When the campaign begins in the next four weeks, the sugar factories in Nykøbing Falster and Nakskov will, for the first time, be able to use Danish natural gas as fuel instead of coal. The 115-kilometer-long gas pipeline from South Zealand, which will supply Lolland-Falster with natural gas, is now ready after three years of work. The pipeline has been established through a joint effort by Evida and Energinet.
– It’s a significant day when a project of this scale reaches completion. We have helped connect Lolland-Falster to the Danish gas network, paving the way for further development in the region. Not only can the local industry now be supplied with gas, but the new pipeline also enables the transmission of biogas from Lolland-Falster to other parts of the country, said Jeppe Danø, Vice Director of Business and Market at Energinet and Chairman of the project’s steering committee, in a press release.
40 percent less CO2
Natural gas emits 40 percent less CO2 than coal, and therefore the switch will immediately result in a significantly reduced CO2 footprint from the two regional sugar factories. Nordic Sugar’s two factories on Lolland-Falster currently rank second on the list of Denmark’s largest CO2 emitters, right after the cement producer Aalborg Portland. In the future, it will also be possible to connect local biogas plants to the pipeline, further reducing CO2 emissions.
– Gas has an important role to play in the transition of the Danish energy system, especially in industries that cannot electrify their production but can still achieve a proper climate effect by switching to gas. Lolland-Falster is now an integrated part of the Danish gas system, said Kim Søgård Bering Kristensen, CEO of Evida.
On time and on budget
The South Zealand contractor group Holbøll was responsible for a significant part of the work to get the many kilometers of pipes into the ground across Falster and Lolland. Here, Director Carl Ole Holbøll is highly satisfied with the outcome of the gas project on the South Sea islands:
– We do enjoy challenging projects, and this certainly was one. But we delivered it on time and on budget, so we are quite pleased, he said.
What was challenging about this project?
– The weather. We were going full steam ahead from the start, but then it started raining. It rained almost continuously from mid-December to May, and that’s hard to manage, said Carl Ole Holbøll.
Collaboration is key
The project was decided by the government at the beginning of 2021. Afterward came the work on environmental assessments, archaeological investigations, and project planning, before the first shovel hit the ground at the beginning of 2023.
– To complete such a large infrastructure project as we have now, good collaboration is needed between all parties and in every stage of the process—from the initial calculations at the desk to the last excavator covering the pipe trench so the fields can be restored in good condition. I am proud of the effort put in by everyone involved, and I appreciate the good cooperation between all parties, said Jeppe Danø from Energinet.
Project closure
Now that the pipeline is ready for operation, the project is nearing its conclusion. In the coming time, the last borrowed areas will be returned to the landowners, after which the project can be officially closed.
Nordic Sugar is currently working to finalize the installations at the two factories in Nakskov and Nykøbing Falster, after which they can begin receiving gas in time for this year’s beet campaign, which is the peak season for the factories.
