Helsinki, Finland, 2013-12-04 08:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STORA ENSO OYJ STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 4 December 2013 at 9.00 EET Stora Enso Biomaterials Division’s Enocell Pulp Mill’s power plant will be transferred from Fortum Power and Heat Oy to Stora Enso at approximately EUR 16 million in accordance with an existing finance lease agreement. Stora Enso has approximately EUR 16 million short term finance lease liability specific to this transaction in the September 2013 balance sheet . The Division will also invest approximately EUR 13.5 million to increase use of renewable energy at the mill.
The power plant at the mill site owned by Fortum Power and Heat Oy will be transferred to Stora Enso ownership on 31 December 2013. In 1990 Fortum Power and Heat Oy (then called Imatran Voima Oy) bought the old power plant at the mill site and built a new power plant there as part of a mill expansion project. The new power plant comprises a 100 MW solid fuel bubbling bed boiler and a 99 MW turbogenerator. The power plant uses bark from the pulp mill and residues from forestry operations as fuel. Its annual power production capacity is approximately 600 GWh, of which around 400 GWh is used by Stora Enso’s operations at the mill site. The day-to-day operations and maintenance of the plant are already undertaken by employees of Stora Enso and the mill maintenance company Efora Oy, so no personnel will be transferred in the change of ownership.
“Transferring the power plant to Stora Enso’s ownership will facilitate development of operations as a whole,” says Stora Enso’s Enocell Mill Manager Sauli Purho.
Investment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and energy costs
The investment in renewable energy will enable about 85% of the fuel oil used in its lime kiln to be replaced by sawdust. The investment is expected to reduce the mill’s annual fossil-based carbon dioxide emissions by 30 000 tonnes and energy costs by EUR 5 million. The changes required to the mill processes will be made during 2014. “We want to make the mill’s energy balance more environmentally friendly. The pulp mill is more than self-sufficient in energy, but purchased fuel is still needed for the lime kiln. Through the investment Enocell Mill is taking a significant step towards being a mill free of fossil fuels,” says Mill Manager Sauli Purho. Most of the sawdust used will be supplied by Stora Enso’s nearby Uimaharju and Kitee sawmills.
For further information, please contact: Juan Bueno, EVP, Biomaterials Division, tel. +55 11 3065 5223 Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, SVP, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 763 8767 Kirsi Seppäläinen, Head of Communications and Sustainability, Biomaterials Division, tel. +358 400 786 659 www.storaenso.com www.storaenso.com/investors Stora Enso is the global rethinker of the paper, biomaterials, wood products and packaging industry. We always rethink the old and expand to the new to offer our customers innovative solutions based on renewable materials. Stora Enso employs some 28 000 people worldwide, and our sales in 2012 amounted to EUR 10.8 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market. STORA ENSO OYJ
