OREANDA-NEWS. December 12, 2007. Public discussion over the environmental impact assessment programme of the energy complex which is planned to be established on the territory of Eesti Elektrijaam by AS Narva Elektrijaamad will be held on 10 January 2008, reported the press-centre of AS Narva Elektrijaamad.

The energy complex will come with two new energy units (300 MW each), two new TSK-140 dry distillation devices together with auxiliary equipment for liquid fuel production and possibly a gas turbine for utilising the gas generated from oil shale pyrolysis.

The activities planned by AS Narva Elektrijaamad serve to replace the present power production capacities with new, more efficient and environment-friendly capacities. With a planned gross annual output of 4,200 GWh, the new units allow to save nearly 1 million tons of oil shale per year. A new production building is planned to be built near the old liquid fuel plant, thus modernising production capacities, improving liquid fuel quality and expanding product selection.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) report will be available to the public from 6 December  2007 to 7 January 2008 at the secretary’s desk of AS Eesti Energia (Laki 24, Tallinn, www.energia.ee) and AS Narva Elektrijaamad (Elektrijaama tee 59, Narva, www.powerplant.ee), as well as in the office of Vaivara Rural Municipality Government (Pargi 2, Sinimae, Ida-Viru County) and the Vaivara Rural Municipality website.

Public discussion of the EIA report will be held at Eesti Power Plant (Eesti Elektrijaam. Vaivara Municipality, Auvere Village, Estonia), on 10 January 2008 at 12:00 noon. Written proposals, questions and objections regarding the EIA report may be submitted to the e-mail address of AF-Estivo AS: juri.kleesmaa@afconsult.com and to its postal address Vaike-Ameerika 8, 10129 Tallinn until 7 January 2008.

So far, two energy units have been renewed in Narva Elektrijaamad (Narva Power Plants), and brought fully in line with the EU Large Combustion Plant Directive. The project cost is nearly 4 billion kroons. The old energy units need to be shut down by 2016 due to non-compliance with the requirements. Unless new energy units are constructed or old units renovated, power production will decrease, supplying only 60% of the current domestic consumption by 2012. To maintain power production on the current level, a minimum of two new energy units need to be constructed by 2012.

The liquid fuel plant of AS Narva Elektrijaamad was established in 1979. The plant has a production capacity of approximately 150,000 tons of liquid fuel a year, making up nearly one-third of the total liquid fuel output in Estonia. AS Narva Elektrijaamad was established in 1999. For fuel, the power plants use local oil shale mined from the quarries and underground mines of AS Eesti Polevkivi. Balti Elektrijaam and Eesti Elektrijaam are the biggest oil-shale-based power plants in the world, using nearly 11 million tons of oil shale every year.