In Finland, Nordic gas and energy major Gasum Oy has announced that it has entered into liquefied biomethane (bioLNG) supply agreement with the Finnish company Vieremän Lämpö ja Vesi Oy. Under the agreement, Gasum will supply biogas to Vieremän Lämpö ja Vesi’s biogas terminal starting in the autumn.
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Vieremän Lämpö ja Vesi is a company owned by the municipality of Vieremä and includes district heat, water, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). District heat in the municipality is produced almost entirely with renewable biomass fuels.
Vieremä is a municipality in the North Savo region in eastern Finland and has a population of around 3 500. Vieremä is home to a lot of metalworking industries, but also, for example, concrete products manufacturing.
Ponsse Oy, a global supplier of forestry machinery, has its headquarters and manufacturing- and assembly plant in Vieremä.
Biogas terminal
The municipality of Vieremä has a biogas-based project under construction, where the first phase will involve a reception terminal for both liquefied- and compressed biomethane (aka renewable natural gas – RNG), a backup biogas-fired power plant and a gas filling station serving transport.
In addition, biomethane can be used by industry and for electricity generation in Vieremä.
Gasum will supply the biomethane to the terminal in liquefied form, bioLNG. Gasum produces biogas- and upgrades it to biomethane in its own 17 biogas plants in Finland and Sweden and buys it from certified Nordic and European suppliers.
The bioLNG will be regasified so that it can also be compressed into bioCNG, which is suitable for refueling gas-powered passenger cars.
The plan is for the terminal to be in use in early autumn, and the gas filling station will also open for everyone at the same time.
Aiming to create a biogas ecosystem
The project aims to create a biogas ecosystem in Vieremä. In practice, the introduction of biogas will increase the security of supply, replace the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in backup power production, and allow industry in Vieremä to switch from using fossil gas to using biomethane.
Vieremä also wants to create a market for locally produced biogas, which will pave the way for investments in biogas production as a new business for farms in the region.
The goal is to switch to using biomethane produced by local farms in the biogas terminal in stages as investments get underway.
In addition, the project will make biomethane available as an alternative vehicle fuel for local residents and businesses.
The project also means that the municipality of Vieremä will switch to using biogas-fueled vehicles in its own operations and in outsourced services.
According to Gasum, the lifecycle emissions of biogas are on average 90 percent lower compared to conventional fossil fuels.
Gasum’s strategic goal is to bring 7 TWh of renewable biomethane per annum to market by 2027. This would mean annual savings of 1.8 million tonnes in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for Gasum’s customers.
