The investment covers the construction of a biogas plant and a liquefaction unit. The preparatory earthworks have already been completed and the construction of the biogas plant will start next winter. The facility will be completed in 2026.
The Kiuruvesi biogas plant is part of the Ylä-Savo complex, which includes, in addition to the industrial-sized centralized liquefied biogas production plant located in Kiuruvesi, three smaller so-called satellite facility in Lapinlahti , Sonkajärvi and Nurme.
In total, the investment value of the Ylä-Savo entity is around €100 million. The project has been granted €19.2 million of EU recovery and recovery support (RRF investment support). The support is critical for the realization of the project. The final construction decisions for the satellite facilities still await the completion of the environmental permit and zoning processes.
The biogas plant under construction in Kiuruvedi makes efficient use of livestock manure from the nearby area. The facility can receive the manure quantities of around one hundred farms in the surrounding area, i.e. around 400 thousand tons of manure per year. In addition, the biogas plant receives manure-based pressurized biogas from other biogas plants for liquefaction. The plant liquefies a total of approximately 125 GWh of biogas per year, which is roughly equivalent to the annual fuel volume of 250 heavy-duty vehicles.
"Manure biogas production is of great importance in reducing agricultural emissions, in addition to heavy traffic. We have entered into a binding supply agreement with over a hundred agricultural entrepreneurs from Upper Savo, and with this, the biogas plants have a very large impact on the emissions of agriculture in Upper Savo and the development of the entire industry. At this point, we already thank all these numerous agricultural entrepreneurs for making the project possible and for the long-term collaboration," says project manager Janika Keinänen from Valio, who is responsible for the development of the biogas business.
Suomen Lantakaasu Oy collects the manure from the farms and returns the biofertilizer produced as a byproduct in biogas production back to the farms. Feed contracts have already been signed for almost the entire amount of manure needed, but there is still space for a few new farms to supply manure. Agricultural waste can be picked up from farms of all sizes and different production directions in the vicinity of the facility. The liquefied biogas produced at the plant is distributed through St1's distribution network as fuel for heavy traffic. Lundsby Renewable Solutions A/S has been chosen as the supplier of the biogas plant.
"Especially in heavy traffic, biogas is an important solution for reducing emissions, because it is difficult to fully electrify heavy traffic," says St1 Biokraft's Head of Growth Matti Oksanen and continues: "Biogas production in Finland could be significantly increased. We hope that the investments planned for the production of biogas and the opportunity to utilize this domestic means of reducing emissions will not be lost with a pushy policy and changes in the distribution obligation."
Suomen Lantakaasu Oy's goal is to produce a total of one terawatt hour of renewable transport fuel. In addition to the central plant and satellite plants in Kiuruvesi, the company is building a central plant of almost the same size in Nurmo, as well as exploring new central plant locations in Ostrobothnia and North Ostrobothnia.
The planned projects already cover almost half of Suomen Lantakaas' total goal of one terawatt hour. Finland's national biogas target by 2030 is four terawatt hours.
The investment also has a significant employment impact on the Eastern Finland region. In addition to the jobs created at the biogas plant, the project will employ experts in construction and logistics in the area.
