The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have agreed to provide a loan of 34.4 million Euros to AS Graanul Invest to expand on their biomass fuelled combined heat and power (CHP) plants in the Baltic’s.
AS Graanul Invest is an Estonian based privately owned company specialising in bioenergetics and renewable energy production. The company, founded in 2003, quickly became one of the largest producers of wood pellets in the Baltics and is among the top five pellet producing companies in Europe. Their first two factories situated in Imavere, Estonia and Alytus, Lithuania, were quickly followed in 2005 by the construction of a third pellet processing plant in Launkalne, Latvia.
Wood pellets are a compacted sawdust pellet produced as a by-product of sawmilling. They burn with extremely high combustion efficiency due to low humidity content and a very dense consistancy. Since 1999 a broad range of pellet burning appliances have been developed in both the domestic and commercial markets. The demand for pellet heating has increased significantly since 2005 in line with fossil fuel increases.
The loan from EBRD will finance the construction of two new CHP plants, one in Estonia and one in Latvia. Funding will also be utilised in improving and updating two of AS Graanul Invests existing plants to increase efficiently of their pellet production.
