ESPOO, Finland,
March 9, 2011
(Globe Newswire) -
Metsä Tissue, part of the Metsäliitto Group and a leading tissue and cooking paper supplier Europe-wide, celebrated the extension of its local electricity distribution system and a new connection between the VVB Žilina dam and Metsä Tissue's Žilina mill on 9th March. The connection from the hydropower plant and associated high-voltage transformers were installed successfully to provide a source of renewable non-fossil electricity for Metsä Tissue's adjacent tissue paper mill in Žilina, Slovakia. In future, electricity produced with hydropower will account for some 70 per cent of the mill's total electricity consumption.
In 2009, Metsä Tissue and VVB initiated co-operation aimed at realizing this energy- and eco-efficient source of electricity. The successful completion of this EUR 3,5 million project will bring various positive ecological and economic impacts. The new hydropower connection will lower transformation losses and thereby achieve improved energy efficiency.
The new hydropower connection is a tangible, easy-to-explain "green energy case" utilizing the strengths of the Žilina region. It also supports Metsä Tissue's Tissue 20 project, which aims to achieve energy efficiency improvements equivalent to 20 per cent of the company's current energy consumption by 2012.
The project is the result of fruitful teamwork between Metsä Tissue and its local and national stakeholders in Slovakia. The hydropower connection utilizes Žilina's natural resources in a responsible, innovative way, benefiting the environment, the local community and all stakeholders.
Metsä Tissue will continue its innovative work to improve energy- and eco-efficiency in Žilina through the efficient use of steam and efficient reuse of de-inking sludge generated during the recovered paper de-inking process.
Reducing the use of fossil energy sources is an important step in the Metsäliitto Group's climate programme. Metsäliitto is an international forest industry group present in some 30 countries.
