Combined Heat and Power Production in Finland

Panel: Panel 3: Energy Efficiency options for industry

Authors:
Seppo Silvonen, MOTIVA, Information Centre for Energy Efficiency
Tero Mäkelä, Finnish District Heating Association

Abstract

Finland saves annually 6% of all primary energy used in the country, or 20% of the total fossil fuel consumption by using cogeneration.

Finland is the world? leading country in the combined production of heat and power (CHP). Cogeneration is applied widely in Finland for the heating of communities and for heat and power from the utilisation of waste fuels from industrial processes. The amount of energy Finland saves annually through CHP corresponds to 6% of all primary energy used in the country, or 20% of the total fossil fuel consumption.

Approximately 32% of the electricity used in Finland in 1996 was gained from CHP. Industrial power plants and district heating plants respectively accounted for 44% and 56% of the cogeneration. Industries consumed more than half of all electricity in Finland in 1996, and a quarter of their electricity came from CHP. As much as 75% of district heating was produced by CHP in 1996. District heating covers 46% of total Finnish space heating demand.

Anyone who conforms to the safety and environmental standards is permitted to build power plants in Finland. By contrast, nuclear power plants must be approved by the Parliament.

The high acquisition costs of energy have made it profitable for companies and communities to invest in cogeneration that saves energy. The high efficiency of CHP facilitates the use of inferior as well as expensive fuels. The most suitable fuels available at each particular locality are used for CHP.

CHP plants are built for financial gain. Cogeneration must be cheaper than the acquisition of corresponding amounts of power and heat with other methods. The profitability of different alternatives must be assessed for the whole life expectancy of a power plant. It is normally more costly to build but cheaper to operate a CHP plant than a plant employing other production methods.