Ranua will have Finland’s largest agricultural biogas plant. Volvo’s new 500 horsepower biogas truck.
Biogas is becoming more common in truck traffic, as Finland’s largest agricultural biogas plant is under construction in Ranua. The gas it produces annually is equivalent to 600,000 liters of diesel fuel.
Among other things Metsä Group on Stora Enson interested in reducing emissions in northern wood transport.
“There are 17 timber trucks going through Ranua to the new organic product factory in Kemi every day. Some of them could be converted to use gas,” says the woodworker of the biogas project, Pohjois-Suomen Biokaasu Oy Chairman of the Board Jan-Erik Impiö From Ranua.
This week, the company received a decision from the Minister of the Environment, whereby the state participates with a 65 percent subsidy in the construction of a biogas plant near the center of Ranua, costing approximately four million euros.
There are 21 farmers behind the project. It is also the largest joint biogas plant for farmers in Finland. According to Impiö, the final investment decision will be made within a week.
The big support surprised me
“Such a high percentage of support came as a positive surprise. The favorable position of the Ministry of the Environment was also influenced by the fact that, among other things, dredging mass obtained from Simojoe is to be transported to the biogas plant. Next summer, the bottom of the Lohijoki River will be rehabilitated from nutrient emissions that have flowed into the sediment,” says Impiö.
“In Finland, there are already almost 30 biogas plants owned by individual farmers or shared by two farms. In addition, a large biogas plant shared by farmers is planned for Kausti. For example, a dairy farm located in Haapavedi works Valion a milk truck refueling with biogas,” says Impiö.
The Vuorenmaa farm located in Haapavedi earned about 100,000 euros from the sale of biogas last year. At least the same amount of return per shareholder is also expected in the Ranua project.
“There is going to be a gas filling station in Ranua and possibly another filling station next to Kuusamontie in Pudasjärvi,” says Impiö.
The Pudasjärvi container filling station would be fed with biogas transferred from Ranua.
“We have already had preliminary discussions with representatives of several transport companies. Among other things Places has made a decision in principle to increase the number of biogas trucks,” says Impiö.
Oulu’s waste.
Gasum produces gas from Oulu residents’ biowaste at the Rusko waste center in Oulu.
PHOTO: Tapio Mainio
“Posti has three biogas trucks in long-distance transport in northern Finland. In addition, there are three delivery trucks running on biogas in the Oulu area,” says a Posti employee Anssi Purala.
He refueled with biogas Kiertokaari Oy’s at the Rusko distribution station in Oulu. Gasum produces gas from the Oulu region’s household and commercial biowaste at the Rusko waste center. Landfill gas has been produced in Rusko since 1997.
Biogas for the truck.
Ville Miettunen fills up biogas in Lassila & Tikanoja’s waste truck.
PHOTO: Tapio Mainio
Some of the garbage trucks in the Oulu area also run Lassila & Tikanojan like with biogas. Ville Miettunen refueled the garbage truck tank in Rusko.
In Kiiminki Transport company at Eskola has already been in use since the summer of 2022, one of Finland’s first biogas trucks.
A full-trailer truck has driven wood to Stora Enso’s Oulu factory in Nuottasaari.
“The truck has had a few technical problems. The only downside is that the engine has 460 horsepower, so it has not been able to drive full loads of lumber. The cargo has fallen short of five tons,” says Kuljetusliike Eskola’s CEO Pasi School.
The maximum permitted total weight of a truck on Finnish roads can be 76 tons.
Lumber truck.
Eskola’s biogas-powered truck drives wood to Stora Enso’s Oulu factory.
BE: Hand-out
“Volvo has now introduced a 500 horsepower biogas truck to the market, so the total weight of the truck can be 75 tons. Then there would only be a thousand kilos left in the timber cargo”, says Eskola.
460 horsepower biogas trucks are manufactured by Scania and Iveco.
Eskola is one of Finland’s largest timber transporters. The company has eight own and ten subcontracted trucks for logging. The company transported around 1.2 million cubic meters of wood in Northern Finland last year.
According to Eskola, a new timber truck costs around 450,000 euros with trailer and lifting equipment. It has received a subsidy of 15,000 euros from the state for its purchase, if the power source is biogas.
A biogas truck is slightly more expensive than a diesel truck, but its operating costs are about 20 percent lower.
Also for passenger cars.
Marko Hiltunen refuels a car with biogas in Oulu’s Rusko.
PHOTO: Tapio Mainio
“I wonder why inexpensive biogas has been overshadowed by electric cars,” says a resident of Oulu who drives a gas-powered passenger car Marko Hiltunen.
He filled his car with 13 kilos of biogas in Rusko.
“It drives about 500 kilometers. Gas costs 1.73 euros per kilo.
Range 500 kilometers
“The use of biogas trucks in northern Finland has been facilitated by Gasum’s liquefied biogas refueling station in Kemi. The operating radius of the biogas truck is about 600 kilometers, so it can easily drive one transport from the forest to the factory and back,” says Eskola.
Increasing the number of filling stations in rural areas would enable timber trucks to switch to biogas.
Ranualainen Pohjois-Suomen Biokaasu Oy is a company owned by 21 farms, whose purpose is to produce transport biogas from biomass, i.e. cow manure and grass. The farms are located in Ranua, Simo and Pudasjärvi.
“Farmers who give up milk production could also continue without animals by producing grass fodder for the biogas plant to digest,” says Impiö.
The biogas plant’s gas production would be 7,000 MWh per year, which corresponds to approximately 600,000 liters of diesel. The facility’s environmental permit application has been submitted.