BRUSSELS, April 18, 2008 (RISI) - Nordic Paper, a Scandinavian papermaker specializing in greaseproof and sack kraft grades, has announced a major energy investment project at its Åmotfors mill in Sweden.
The planned waste-to-energy (WTE) facility will cost some SEK 500 million ($84 million) to erect. A newly formed company, Åmotfors Energi, will run the plant. It is 37.5% owned by Nordic Paper; 22% by the main supplier, Belgian company Keppel Seghers; and otherwise by three financial institutions, Östersjöstiftelsen, Gålöstiftelsen and Kåpan Pensioner.
Åmotfors Energi has entered into an agreement to supply the Åmotfors mill with steam and energy over the next 20 years. Eventually, the WTE plant will also supply heating to nearby industries and buildings.
The facility will consume some 70,000 tonnes/yr of household waste that will be collected regionally.
A spokesman for the company said the WTE plant will be able to produce some 115 MWh of power from steam and 18 MWh of electricity.
Nordic renames plants: Nordic Paper acquired the Åmotfors mill when it purchased Wermland Paper, a Sweden-based producer, late last year.
The two mills in Sweden's Värmland province that previously belonged to Wermland, Bäckhammars and Åmotfors, will now be known as Nordic Paper Bäckhammars and Nordic Paper Åmotfors. The Wermland name will no longer be used.
The two mills can produce about 170,000 tonnes/yr of sack paper, machine-glazed/machine-finished paper, steel interleaving paper and absorbent paper, as well as about 180,000 tonnes/yr of unbleached softwood kraft pulp.
Power plant finished: A Nordic Paper spokesman revealed that the rebuild of the 100 MW biofuel and oil power plant at the Greaker mill has recently wrapped up. The company had planned to finish it by December, but had been delayed due to difficulties in finding the right contractors.
The work on the 100 MW facility will ensure its viability for the next five years, after which the company will consider its energy options.
