The First Engine hall of Kiisa Emergency Reserve Power Plant Completed

Today 13 June marked the completion of one of the engine halls in Estonia's first fast-start emergency reserve power plant in Kiisa. The first unit of the plant will be ready for operation in 2013 and will ensure security of supply for Estonia's electricity system in case of breakdowns.

The newly constructed engine hall of Kiisa power plant is the first stage in the emergency reserve power plant, which will be completed in 2013. It will be able to cover an unexpected shortage of power in the Estonian electricity system within 10 minutes. Currently, there are no similar power plants in Estonia, and emergency reserve to cover unexpected failures or drops in electricity generation is currently sourced from Latvia. Kiisa emergency reserve power plant will not take part of the electricity market on the daily basis.

Taavi Veskimägi, CEO of Elering, said that Kiisa power plant plays an important role in ensuring Estonia's energy security and the security of supply. "Since electricity production in Latvia is in constant deficit and the transmission capacities on the border are limited, creating our own emergency reserve will create additional security with lower costs for our customers. The Kiisa power plant will be able to work with the EstLink 1 and EstLink 2 cables to cover demand across Estonia in case of breakdowns," explained Veskimägi, adding that the plant will be able to meet the majority of the winter electricity needs for all of Tallinn in case of emergency.

The capacity of the emergency reserve power plant is 250 MW. The first 110 MW unit should be ready for operation next spring and the second unit with 140 MW in 2014. Elering signed a construction contract with Wärtsilä Finland Oy, who won the tender for the construction of the emergency plant. The total investment is around 135 million euros.

Kari Hietanen, Wärtsilä’s Group Vice President, Corporate Relations and Legal and a member of Wärtsilä board of management, confirmed that cooperation with Elering has been very constructive, and Kiisa plant is one of the most modern emergency plants to date. "Kiisa plant is undoubtedly one of the most modern and reliable emergency reserve plants in the Nordic and Baltic countries. I'm glad that we've been able to incorporate our long-term experience, latest technology and knowledge in constructing this plant," Hietanen said.

The plant is based on powerful Wärtsilä diesel generators and will work on both diesel fuel and gas. The liquid fuel tanks that will be built on site will ensure sufficient supply of fuel even during the most critical moments. The emergency reserve power plant has strong connections with Kiisa substation through high-voltage lines to the other key substations across Estonia.

In the next stage of the construction, the first motor and generator sets will be installed in August. The first unit of the emergency reserve power plant should be ready for testing in January 2013.

Read more about the emergency reserve power plant at elering.ee/emergency-reserve-power-plant/.