PELLETS EUROPEAN LEADER IN PELLETS PRODUCTION The Nordic Baltic Conference in April organised by the Swedish Bioenergy Association (Svebio), the Latvian Biomass Association (Latbiom) and Bioenergy International magazine was focused on the transition from fossil energy to bioenergy, bearing in mind that three of the Baltic States countries are still heavily dependent on imported natural gas. The conference ran over two very interesting days and a third day dedicated to two study visits. One group of participants chose to visit Fortum’s new biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Jelgava, the second group went to Latgran’s pellet production plant in Gulbene. LATVIA IS AN INTERESTING COUNTRY, WITH A LITTLE OVER 2 MILLION inhabitants and a total land area of around 64 500 km² it was able to survive turbulent times and keep its unique culture and history. The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918. After World War II it was re-occupied by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years. The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule. It ended with the dissolution of the Soviet 20 Bioenergy International No 80, 4-2015 Union in 1991, and Latvia declared the restoration of its de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Dependency on Russia remained strong however, especially in the energy sector. One of the most important players in the newly forming energy sector is the company Latgran Ltd. This Latvia-based producer of wood pellets for industry was founded in 2004 and owned by Sweden-based BillerudKorsnäs and Finland-based Baltic Resources. As recently as May 2015 the company was sold to AS Graanul Invest, which meant that the largest pellet producer in the Baltic region became even stronger. Latgran’s four plants, with a total production of 497 000 tonnes of pellets in 2014, in addition to Graanul Invest’s previous total of seven pellet plants with a total production of 853 000 tonnes in 2014, makes Graanul Invest a clear leader. According to Ilmars Kass, CEO of Latgran, ”The combination of Latgran and Graanul Invest will create the largest European pellet producer and a top global player with expected total production of 1.8 million tonnes of pellets in 2015”. Latgran’s first plant was opened in 2005 in Jaunjelgava. The production capacity of the plant is 80 000 tonnes and has 16 employees who ensure a good production process around the clock. The plant in Jekabpils has an annual capacity of 160 000 tonnes, em- ”We managed to build the plant during 3 months! The project that usually takes one year, and we are very proud of the results”, stated Martins Zvejnieks, Latgran’s Deputy CEO.
Bioenergy no 4 july 2015
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