Utilitas started the construction of a heat pump plant in Paljassaare

The construction of Utilitas’ wastewater and seawater heat pump plant and seawater pumping station to be built in Paljassaare began today. The emission-free plant will start supplying heat to Tallinn’s district heating network in the winter season of 2026.

The industrial scale heat pump plant, which is the first in Estonia to use wastewater and seawater to produce thermal energy, has a total capacity of 110 MW and covers up to a fifth of the annual heat consumption of Tallinn’s district heating network. The innovative solution connects large heat pumps to Tallinn’s district heating system, offering environmentally friendly and efficient energy production, which increases both security of supply and efficiency. 

Upon completion of the Paljassaare plant, the CO₂ emissions of Tallinn’s heat supply will decrease by an estimated 100,000 tonnes per year, and the share of imported fossil fuel will fall to less than 10 per cent.

“Ensuring energy security requires diverse and independent local production capacities. The Paljassaare heat pump plant will allow us to efficiently use the available resources – treated wastewater and seawater – and thereby reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. Our goal is to produce district heating heat more and more from renewable sources and to ensure a clean, reliable and stable heat supply for the residents of Tallinn,” explained Priit Koit, CEO of Utilitas.

The introduction of large industrial heat pumps is supported by both the European Commission and the International Energy Agency as a quick way to reduce dependence on natural gas. Such devices are installed all over Europe.

“District heating is the most environmentally friendly and affordable way to heat buildings, which is why we consider the development of the system to be a priority. Starting from this year, Tallinn supports the connection of apartment buildings to district heating, and in cooperation with Utilitas, we are also connecting several city-owned buildings that have so far used natural gas for heating to the district heating network. The new Paljassaare heat pump is an important step in making district heating climate-neutral by 2030. We are among the first in Europe in this ambition,” said Jevgeni Ossinovski, Mayor of Tallinn.

Unlike building-based heat pumps, the use of which is limited by the noise and spatial conditions of the urban environment and the capacity of the electricity network, the industrial solution allows for a large-scale impact. The new plant is estimated to be equivalent to the use of 15,000 local 7.5 kW heat pumps. In addition to district heating, the plant to be built will enable the use of waste and seawater residual heat for district cooling in the future.

The plant’s main equipment will be supplied by the Swiss company Friotherm, which has installed large heat pumps in several European cities, including in Sweden and Finland. The main contractor of the construction works is KMG Infra OÜ, which specializes in the construction of complex engineering and technical facilities. The cost of the investment will be nearly 100 million euros.