The FINANCIAL — NIB and the municipality of Jönköping have agreed on a long-term loan for SEK 100 million (EUR 10.8 million) for the construction of a combined heat and power plant, and the expansion of the local fibre optic cable network.
The 25-year-maturity loan has been provided for financing Torsvik 2, a newly constructed biomass heat and power plant, located 10 kilometres outside of Jönköping. The 110-MV power station was commissioned in autumn 2014, and is operated by Jönköping Energi AB.
Torsvik 2 is fuelled by residue from the regional forestry industry and otherwise unrecyclable waste. The plant’s capacity for annual heat production is 340 GWh, and it can generate 120 Gwh of electricity. This corresponds to about 50% of the region’s requirements. Approximately 30,000 households connected to the district heating and energy network are supplied by the plant’s output, according to NIB.
Additionally, the loan finances the expansion of Jönköping Energi’s city fibre cable network, providing operator-neutral Internet access for 26,000 households and small and medium-sized enterprises. The investment in ICT infrastructure will increase the speed of the city network connection and open up access to cloud services, healthcare, distance learning opportunities and media services.
The parties have agreed to further consider financing the project, with a total upper limit of SEK 500 million.
The borrower Jönköpings Rådhus AB is fully held by the municipality of Jönköping and owns 100% of Jönköping Energi AB, which offers energy, waste management and telecommunications solutions.
