Ignitis Group and its subsidiary Vilniaus Kogeneracinė Jėgainė (Vilnius CHP) concluded an agreement for a €220 million loan with Swedbank, it was announced on 9 March.
Ignitis said the funds will be used to complete the construction of the Vilnius CHP biomass unit (€85m), and to re-finance a long-term loan of Vilnius CHP that was provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) (€135m). Ignitus and Swedbank have also agreed upon a credit line of €80m.
The Vilnius CHP biomass unit is currently undergoing cold tests, and preparations for hot testing are underway. Commercial operations are set to begin in Q3 2023.
Vilnius CHP is intended to be one of the most modern combined heat and power plants in Europe. The plant’s overall electric power is estimated to reach 93 MW once the project is finalised, while the heat energy is estimated to reach 239 MW.
A waste-to-energy unit has been operating in Vilnius CHP since March 2021, and once the biomass unit construction is complete, energy will be generated from biomass as well. The plant converts an approximated 160,000 tonnes of waste into energy every year, while biomass unit will use an estimated 500,000 tonnes of biomass.
“We are pleased to continue to build trust with Swedbank, who remains one of the most reliable partners, and who contributed last year to overcoming the energy crisis. By providing us with a credit line of €300 million, it will help us finance one of our biggest projects. This is a result of a long and consistent cooperation and positive partnership between our team and Swedbank,” said Ignitis Group CFO Jonas Rimavičius.
“We appreciate our long-term cooperation with Ignitis Group. We believe that the financial means will help the Group successfully finish its ambitious projects, which will help fulfill national objectives of energy network’s resilience and cutting down emissions,” said Swedbank Lithuania CEO Inga Skisaker.
Swedbank provides €300m loan for Ignitis’ biomass project
