Nordic Investment Bank to provide Moelven Industrier US$20.5M loan for Norwegian bioenergy plant

In Finland, the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) will provide EUR17.73 million to Moelven Industrier ASA in the form of a seven-year loan to be used for an integrated wood pellet and bioenergy plant in Norway.

The loan will finance Moelven Industrier’s new wood pellet and bioenergy plant, which is integrated with the existing sawmill at Sokna, near Hønefoss in Norway. It will also contribute to Moelven’s investments in new timber driers and other energy efficiency improvements at the company’s smaller plants.

The thermal energy demand for the pellet production and the sawmill operations will be covered by two new 12 MW solid biofuel boilers, which will use wood by-products as fuel. They will generate up to 88 GWh of thermal energy annually.

The new bioenergy plant at Sokna will ensure energy supply for both sawmill and the pellet factory. This will substantially reduce energy consumption, as the energy that would otherwise go to waste will be used in white pellet production.