September 4 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian cellulose producer Sviloza said that it has commissioned a grid-connected installation for generating heating and electricity from waste biomass for an investment of 70 million levs ($38.7 million/35.8 euro) in total.
The facility was financed at over 50% by Sviloza's own funds and by a loan from United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), the Bulgarian manufacturer said in a press release last week.
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The installation was designed and constructed by Chinese company Jinan Boiler Group, in line with technical and environmental requirements applicable in Bulgaria and the EU. The plant has a capacity for generating 65 tonnes of steam and 16MW of electricity per hour.
Sviloza will use the plant's energy output for its own consumption needs and will sell the excess production on the unregulated market.
There are around 50 new jobs created at the facility, the cellulose producer also said.
"Svilosa's activities are currently on hold due to the inadequate volumes on the wood market, but we will not give up in the face of difficulties," company owner Krassimir Dachev said. He added that this is a long-term investment, much like the new plant for microcrystalline cellulose, for which ground is about to be broken.
Based in the northern Bulgarian city of Svishtov, on the Danube river, Sviloza, through its main subsidiary Svilocell, is the only Bulgarian maker of bleached kraft pulp and related products. The company was gradually privatised between 1997 and 2002, with the state divesting its residual 15% equity share in 2002.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)