Carbon free heating for Finland’s Rovaniemi Airport

Finnish airport operator, Finavia, and Napapiirin Energia ja Vesi (Neve) have entered into an agreement on the heating of Rovaniemi Airport with carbon-neutral district heating.

“Our objective is to achieve zero net emissions in 2030, and we continue on our journey towards emissions-free airports,” enthuses Finavia’s senior vice president for infrastructure, sustainability, safety and compliance, Henri Hansson.

“We have worked systematically to reduce the climate impact of our airports for over ten years now. We reached an important milestone two years ago when all our airports became carbon neutral. The co-operation with Neve is an important step along this journey.”

Airports directly contribute towards climate change through the heating of buildings and the energy consumption of vehicles.

Realistically, this isn’t going to change overnight, but Hansson notes that it can be a gradual process if airports are committed to the cause.

“In order to eliminate our carbon dioxide emissions, we must focus on increasing the use of renewable energy and improving our energy efficiency,” urges Hansson.

Finavia believes that Vihreä Lähilämpö (Neve’s carbon-neutral district heating product) is an excellent choice for Rovaniemi Airport as it supports the key measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions identified by the company in its climate programme.

Neve produces its district heat from renewable and locally sourced fuels.

According to Kristian Gullsten, CEO of Neve, the company generates heat mainly from wood-based fuels: wood chips and wood industry byproducts such as dust, bark, cutter shavings and recycled wood.

It is also planning to use energy generated by burning dried sewage sludge in the near future.

“We have made significant investments in reducing our emissions, and our objective is to make all our production emissions-free by the end of this decade,” says Gullsten.

“Thanks to our Vihreä Lähilämpö, we can offer carbon neutral district heating to the majority of our customers.”