Slovenian municipality Dobrepolje received new biomass boiler from GGE

The Dobrepolje Municipality in Slovenia has received a new boiler room with biomass boiler from the Regional Energy Services Company GGE. The new 250 KW boiler will use 17 percent less of primary energy and will have zero CO2 emissions.

The newly installed woodchip boiler uses the most advanced biomass technology available at the moment. It wil be used for the heating of the local elementary school, two kindergartens, the gym and a new sports center.

So far, the central boiler room from the elementary school served for heating of the school and one kindergarten, while a fossil fuel (extra light fuel oil) was used as the energy source.

The capacity of that old boiler room was not sufficient to meet the needs of a new kindergarten and a sports center that the municipality intended to build. Besides providing additional heating, the municipality officials wanted to do it in an energy efficient and environmentally friendly way, according to the president of the municipality of Dobrepolje, Janez Pavlin.

A concession contract on the reconstruction of the heating system in Dobrepolje was signed earlier this year, in April. The public private partnership contract was signed for 15 years. GGE officially handed over the new boiler room to the municipality at the end of November.

The new boiler room has brought improvements to the municipality, primarily lower management costs, lower energy consumption and zero CO2 emissions, according to a GGE statement. Regarding the reconstruction of the heating system, GGE established a new independent boiler room, which, besides boiler on biomass and its associated equipment, has a storage room for woodchips.

The new boiler room was connected to the old one with a hot water pipe. One of the existing oil-fueled boilers is kept as a reserve in case of increased consumption needs.

Due to the transition to biomass, CO2 emissions into the environment will be reduced by 116 tons per year in the future, Pavlin said. Additional advantage is that the wood biomass used for the boiler is produced in the municipality itself.

When it comes to the users, the new integrated distribution station with technical interventions will contribute to better and easier regulation of the temperature on the premises, which will significantly improve the comfort and quality of life of children and employees, said Nejc Frumen, director of technical development at GGE.