Ash pipe fault to keep Auvere power plant offline for two weeks

Estonia’s Auvere power plant has halted operations for about two weeks after a fault in an ash discharge pipe, ERR reported, citing Eesti Energia communications manager Lennart Komp.

The pipe carries hot ash produced when oil shale is burned in the boiler to a heat exchanger, Komp said. The fault appeared late on Thursday and is unrelated to previous breakdowns, he added.

Repairs will take about two weeks, largely because the plant must first cool down. That process is expected to take around three days, as the ash in the affected pipe is hotter than 500 degrees Celsius.

Once the plant has cooled, workers will prepare to clean the pipe, carry out the repair and complete assembly, drying and other work, Komp said. He said the fault had not occurred before and was not found during summer maintenance.

The plant was last taken out of service for unplanned repairs in January and February.