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Kaunas Municipality has received the request from a well-established German insurance company “Hermes”, which is ready to insure the project of combined heat and power plant, to express its position regarding the construction of the power plant in Kaunas. Head of the city announced that he had no intention to interfere into the affairs of private businesses.

 

On the municipality website Mr Kupčinskas explains that implementation of the project is for the benefit of businessmen, as well as their risk and responsibility, which is not to be undertaken by the municipality or affected in whatsoever manner.

 

Businessmen, implementing the project, show their surprise that the city is treating a billion-worth investment as totally irrelevant even though municipality is not requested to allot money, guarantees or any other liabilities. It is asked only to give support to the project so that the German commercial banks are able to grant credits at more attractive conditions.

 

“Power plant is constructed for the urban heat consumers. The heat price is likely to go down by 20 % to them. Given that, evasion of the city administration to express their position is beyond any understanding”, wondered the Director General Antanas Pranculis, responsible for the implementation of Kaunas power plant project.

 

To Be of Combined Cycle

 

The new power plant is under construction because the old one is at a critical threshold. After five years it will not meet environmental requirements of the European Union, as well as technological standards of the Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity of Western and Central European countries, thus, it will be brought to the shutdown. Apart from KHPP, Kaunas power plant investment project engages also the Western European investment pension funds that will own half of Kaunas power plant shares. Combined heat and power plant, which would generate both heat and electric power, is planned to be constructed in Kaunas.

“No other kind of power plants, except for the power plants of combined heat and power or those using renewable sources, is constructed at the moment. Any other technologies are already in the past. Maybe someone fears that we construct a huge gas-fired power plant. Nevertheless, there are laws that oblige us to buy in all the energy from renewable sources, therefore, they have an explicit priority and the new power plant is not any competitor to them.

 

Alternative energy sources require reserve sources that could supply cheap energy to the network, for example, in the absence of wind”, stated academician Jurgis Vilemas, the Chairman of the Science Council of Lithuanian Energy Institute.

 

Ungrounded Tumult

Uproar among the politicians, who envisaged evil plans, was caused by the tender of Kauno energija for the rent of Petrašiūnai Thermal Power Plant for 20 years. However, energy experts are sure that this choice is reasonable.

One of the opposition leaders in Kaunas Council, the liberalcentrist Arvydas Garbaravičius was sure that highly strict requirements to tenderers was likely to significantly reduce the list of potential candidates. The politician made assumptions that the tender for the power plant rent had been prepared for a sole company, i.e. KHPP.

Despite the results achieved by the tumult caused by the conservative Gediminas Žukauskas and liberalcentrist Arvydas Garbaravičius, i.e. the tender was terminated, it was discovered that the Russian capital, which was purportedly claiming its candidacy to Petrašiūnai Power Plant, was gone with the wind.

It appears that documents for the rent of the power plant were acquired only by the Western countries and companies with the Lithuanian capital. This was also confirmed by Rimantas Bakas, the Head of Kauno energija.

Tender documents were acquired by the company “Energotiekimas”, associated with the former head of LEO LT Rymantas Juozaitis, “Aidarsa”, “E Energija”, “Litesko”, the founders of which are the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the French concern “Dalkia”, “Axis Industries”, “Miesto energija” and “Energijos sistemų servisas” (“Energy Systems Service”), a great part of shares of which is held by the Swiss investors.

Perspectives for the development of Petrašiūnai Power Plant by using biofuel for energy and heat generation were recommended by the studies for the development and modernisation of the company Kauno energija, conducted by the Lithuanian Energy Institute and Kaunas University of Technology. The study by the Lithuanian Energy Institute on the modernisation of Petrašiūnai Power Plant by introducing the use of biofuel named the amount of 100 million litas.

These estimates were welcomed also by the Supervisory Board of Kauno energija.

 

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