Energy company Helen says that it will build Europe’s largest electric boiler plant in Hanasaari’s energy quarter. It will also be joined by a thermal battery consisting of two units.
The capacity of the electric boiler plant is 200 megawatts and it consists of four 50 megawatt electric boilers.
The thermal storage next to the plant consists of two approximately 40-meter thermal batteries. Their combined capacity is one thousand megawatts, and the storage can be both unloaded and loaded with a power of one hundred megawatts.
The advantage of the facility is the protection it provides against energy price fluctuations.
With electric boilers, the water temperature can be raised to suit the district heating network at times when electricity is at its cheapest.
“With a plant operating as a whole, it is possible to effectively utilize the volatility of the electricity market by storing electricity at cheaper spot prices, and offer it as heat at a competitive price to our customers. On the other hand, it is also possible to decommission the thermal storage, which can be used to equalize the highest electricity spot prices”, Helen’s director responsible for investments Juhani Aaltonen says in the announcement.
According to Aaltonen, the electricity used by the facility is produced in a climate-friendly manner.
According to the company, construction work will begin in the spring of 2025. The plant complex is scheduled to be commissioned in the heating season of 2026–2027.
The energy company of the city of Helsinki is trying to get away from fossil fuels and has closed its plants based on burning coal.
The Hanasaari power plant building was decommissioned last year. Now in front of it is the energy quarter, where other energy production facilities are already located.