Suomenoja CHP plant
The Suomenoja production plant is located in Espoo, Southern Finland. The plant provides heat and, to lesser degree, electricity for customers in three cities. The production is increasingly based on electricity, as well as gas in the coldest periods.
Several investments over the years
The Suomenoja plant has been in production since 1977. Over the recent years, several investments have been made in order to discontinue the use use coal and transform heating towards electricity-based heat production. At the moment, the production assets include four CHP units, as well as a heat pump plant that re-uses heat from treated wastewater. The 60 MW heat pump plant includes three heat pumps that provide up to 25% of all the heat consumed by the customers connected to the 900-kilometre-long district heating network.
The Suomenoja site also hosts a 20,000 m3 heat accumulator that can store about 800 MWh of heat energy in water. In addition, a 100 MW electric boiler plant was commissioned on the site in 2023. Together, they can increase flexibility in production: the electric boilers can heat the district heating water during periods of cheaper power prices, and furthermore, this energy can be stored in the accumulator and released to the network when heat demand peaks.
In 2024, the last coal burning unit in Suomenoja was closed down permanently on 28.4.2024, over a year ahead of schedule. This historical decision was enabled by the advanced electricity-based roadmap and production.
Electricity capacity
270 MW
Heat capacity
500 MW