Vilnius cogeneration power plant has launched hot testing

Vilnius combined heat and power plant (Vilnius CHP) launches first ‘hot testing’. During the test period of a modern and highly efficient power plant, it will be checked whether the systems are ready to produce heat and electricity.

Tests of the power plant’s technological equipment were first launched in a waste-to-energy boiler, and only natural gas is currently used for testing. Among energy professionals, this stage of power plant construction is called the ‘first fire’. Later, when the technological processes of the power plant are harmonized and all the equipment works as planned, the first waste will be brought to the power plant.

‘The plant is still under construction, but modern equipment has already been installed, a team of specialists has been assembled, therefore we are moving to the ‘hot’ testing stage of technological equipment. This is a necessary and important part of the project implementation, designed to test the power plant equipment and harmonize the staff’s work,’ said Saulius Barauskas, General Manager at the Vilnius CHP.

The testing period will last until the end of the year. As of October, during working hours, unusual noises may come from the power plant area, reminiscent of particularly loud wheezing. In addition, white smoke circles will also appear. Representatives of the power plant apologize in advance for the possible inconveniences to people working or living in the area.

During the testing, the personnel of the Vilnius CHP and ensures the possibility for the institutions supervising the protection of public health and the environment to directly monitor the testing that takes place in the plant.

When Vilnius CHP starts operating, the total electrical capacity of the power plant will be about 100 MW, and the thermal capacity will be about 240 MW. The power plant is equipped with modern, contemporary facilities, which will ensure a completely safe production of energy from waste and biofuels. In a year, this power plant will produce about 40% of the amount of heat required and centrally supplied to the city of Vilnius. When completed, according to the applied environmental and energy production technologies, Vilnius CHP will be one of the most modern power plants of this type in Europe.

It is planned that Vilnius CHP will convert as much as 160 thousand tons of waste into useful energy for our homes and industry that would otherwise end up in landfills and pollute the environment. Vilnius CHP will convert non-hazardous municipal waste remaining after sorting and not suitable for recycling into useful energy.

Vilnius CHP construction project is being implemented by the international energy company Ignitis Group. The project is implemented from the funds provided by the European Commission (up to €140 million), a loan from the European Investment Bank (up to €190 million) and the group’s own funds. The total value of the power plant project under construction is about €350 million.