The major energy production project launched in 2019 is coming to an end as planned. The Finnish UPM Group has inaugurated the combined heat and power plant at its Nordland Papier mill in Germany. The EUR 100 million plant, which supplies the mill and feeds excess electricity back into the power grid, is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 300,000 tons per year. This represents 5% of the forestry group's emissions.
Nordland Papier in Dörpen, which employs 1,500 people, is described by UPM as Europe's largest fine and specialty paper mill with a production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year. The 84-megawatt gas-fired combined heat and power plant has been designed to run on hydrogen, which the company expects to play an important role in Germany in the long term.
"In today's energy crisis, coupled with the growing need for carbon reductions, it is critical that we invest and innovate to become more efficient." said Winfried Schaur, Executive Vice President Technology and UPM Biorefining. "The power plant will increase the sustainability of our paper production while providing flexible support to the German energy system."
Cogeneration solutions are a promising way for the industry to provide energy system flexibility. UPM Nordland Papier can now adjust supply and demand to achieve a balance that benefits the mill's production, while stabilizing grid volatility and providing additional capacity to the public power grid.
UPM has planned to reduce its CO2 emissions by 65% by 2030 and offset all remaining carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement's 2050 target.
