March 16 (SeeNews) - A 49 MW wood biomass-fired district heating plant in Bosnia's Banja Luka was officially opened on Thursday to replace its loss-making predecessor running on fuel oil.
"We now have a financially sustainable heating system instead of the old heating plant, which saw losses of 10 to 20 million marka ($6.3-12.6 million/5.1-10.2 million euro) each year," Igor Radojicic, mayor of Banja Luka, said in a statement.
The new plant is expected to put an end to the city's years-long heating energy issue. The company operating the plant, Eko Toplane Banja Luka, was set up by the local Institute for Energy and Environment (IEE) and Banja Luka city government
"The new company is expected to be profitable and should secure investments to further modernise the heating network, while at the same time bringing a profit to its owners, the city of Banja Luka and IEE," Radojicic said.
Following the plant's completion, the city has announced that Eko Toplane Banja Luka will work on reconstructing the city's run-down heating network, in which over 25% of heat energy is lost during its transportation to consumers.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development lent 8.4 million euro ($10.3 million) in November to the city of Banja Luka for the construction of the biomass-fired heating plant. District heating company Eko Toplane is the builder, owner and operator of the new plant. The city government has an equity stake in the company.
Several protestors, including former employees of the old heating plant, Toplana A.D. Banja Luka, gathered in Banja Luka to express their opposition to the new plant, arguing that it is covering neighborhoods nearby in thick ash.
Banja Luka is located in the Serb Republic, one of the two entities forming Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other is the Federation.
(1 euro=1.95583 marka)