Vilnius - Lithuania
Heat production and distribution network
Expanding the heating network and producing clean energy.
Contract facts
Operator:
Vilniaus Energija, a Veolia
Energy-Dalkia subsidiary
Contract start:
2002
Contract duration:
15 years
Key figures
Population served:
580,000 inhabitants
Installed power:
2,324 MW thermal
384 MW electrical,
Total production:
2.3 TWh thermal energy
1.1 TWh electricity
Heating network:
500 km interconnected
Challenge
In Lithuania's capital city Vilnius (population 680,000), the network supplied by two cogeneration plants represents the country's primary source of electric power production through cogeneration. In 2002, faced with aging infrastructure systems, the municipality opted for a scenario calling for rehabilitating the residential environment and improving energy efficiency.
Objectives
- Modernizing and managing the network for better energy efficiency.
- Reducing heating charges for residents.
- Optimizing service reliability and availability under all climate conditions.
- Developing new sources of renewable energy.
Veolia Energy-Dalkia's solution
High performance installations
- Improving the efficiency of primary production and distribution through quality equipment control and maintenance (reducing failures by 12%),
- Optimizing and individualizing heating systems for individual apartments. This action enabled to reduce prices by 5% the first year.
Environmental solutions
- Implementation of a 70 MW biomass plant that reduces dependency on fossil fuels.
- Preserving the urban environment thanks to improved air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions
(with a reduction in CO2 emissions of 30,000 metric tons a year thanks to the biomass plant).
Effective customer service
Setting up 3 sales agencies and naming 75 neighborhood leaders to ensure good relations with customers and hooking up new buildings.
Communication and training
- Raising public's awareness of energy conservation: distributing brochures and information letters, educational visits to the plants.
- A training program for young local engineers, with sponsoring in France and in collaboration with the University of Vilnius.
