Wega and EPV Energy (EPV Energia Oy) have signed a letter of intent to develop a gas engine power plant alongside the biorefinery planned in Oripää, southwest Finland. The biorefinery, developed by Wega, will mainly produce liquefied biomethane and e-methane for industry, transport and energy production. Its output can be stored and used as the main fossil-free fuel for the gas engine plant that EPV is planning.
The power plant would generate clean, fossil-free electricity. It would also help secure the electricity supply during disruptions and when weather-dependent renewable output fluctuates.
The plant’s estimated total electrical capacity would be 40–50 MW. If built, it would strengthen security of supply and add much-needed dispatchable capacity for winter peak demand, as well as balancing fast-changing weather-dependent production. The Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is preparing a fossil-free flexibility model, which, if implemented, would support flexible, weather-independent energy production and storage.
The environmental permit process is planned to start at the end of 2025. EPV Energy is responsible for permitting and planning the power plant up to the investment decision.
Wega CEO Niko Ristikankare welcomes the continuation of Wega’s long-standing cooperation with EPV. He says the gas engine plant broadens the scope of the biorefinery project and further strengthens the region’s energy self-sufficiency and security of supply.
EPV Energy CEO Rami Vuola says that as wind and solar power grow in Finland, market conditions increasingly depend on the weather. Finland therefore needs more electricity generation that can ramp up quickly and provide capacity whatever the weather. Having completed its major generation projects, EPV is now focusing on making the energy system more flexible, investing significantly in fast-starting dispatchable capacity, energy storage and electrified heat production. The letter of intent is a concrete example of this, and it supports EPV’s “New Electricity Revolution” strategy.
Contacts
Rami Vuola
CEO, EPV Energy Ltd
+358 10 505 5044
rami.vuola@epv.fi
Niko Ristikankare
CEO and Partner, Wega Group Oy
+358 50 347 2528
niko.ristikankare@wega.fi
