Enefit advances 19-kilometre Auvere-Narva heating pipeline

Enefit has begun preliminary design work for a nearly 19-kilometre district heating pipeline between Auvere and Narva, with construction planned to start in 2027 and the system to be operational by December 1, 2028, ERR reports.

Narva heating network held a competition to find a cheaper heating solution for the city. Enefit Industry, which won the competition in February, offered heat at 53.80 euros per megawatt-hour.

Enefit is now seeking a designer who will apply for construction permits from the cities of Narva and Narva-Jõesuu and determine the pipeline’s precise route.

“According to the plan, designing the heating pipeline will run from this summer until next spring. During that time, approvals must be obtained from network operators and landowners, as well as a construction permit,” Lennart Komp, Enefit’s head of communications, told ERR.

The pipeline is planned to run partly on an above-ground support structure and partly underground. It will end at the connection point with Narva’s heating network at the Balti power plant, which is also the starting point of the city’s district heating network.

Noise barriers will also have to be designed at several points along the pipeline for neighbouring properties.

The pipeline will be approximately 18.7 kilometres long and will be able to transfer more than 300 gigawatt-hours of heat annually. Its contracted maximum heat capacity is 85 megawatts, although the possibility of transporting up to 120 megawatts is being analysed.

Heat produced from pyrolysis gas, a byproduct of oil plants, is expected to provide Narva residents with district heating at a lower price and ensure continuity of the service.

Eesti Energia said in the spring that converting Unit 5 of the Eesti power plant to gas fuel would cost nearly 50 million euros, with about half of that amount spent on building the heating pipeline.