Valmet’s automation boosts energy production flexibility at Fortum in Finland

“The production fleet of Fortum’s district heating system has undergone massive changes in recent years, becoming increasingly electricity based. We have significantly expanded our electric boiler capacity while shutting down fossil fuel-based production capacity. To succeed in the volatile energy markets, we must be able to dispatch our electric boiler production optimally and participate efficiently in the reserve markets. Using Valmet’s advanced process control and optimization solutions, we aim to balance the availability of electricity with district heat demand. Valmet’s energy balance optimizer will steer the electric boilers according to optimized production plans, and the district heating accumulator optimization will take care of balancing the heat distribution to our customers,” says Lauri Lötjönen, Process Control Engineer, Fortum Heating & Cooling Nordics.

”We are proud to deliver optimization solutions to our long-term customer Fortum, enabling the company to enhance the management of its multi-located production assets in a multi-market environment. It is also rewarding to see how our solutions enable increasingly effective participation in the electricity market. Over the past year, the Finnish energy market has seen significant growth in automation, and this project is an excellent example of that development,” says Teijo Salonpää, Senior Sales Manager, Automation Solutions business area, Valmet.