NIB to loan EUR 42 million to Tine SA for the construction of its new dairy in Bergen, Norway

Photo: TINE / Bo Mathisen

NIB and the Norwegian dairy company Tine SA have signed a loan agreement of NOK 400 million (EUR 42 million), with a 12-year maturity, on financing the construction of Tine’s new dairy in Bergen, Norway. In order to save energy, waste heat from refrigerating machine will be utilised in heat pumps, and the roof of the building will be fitted with solar panels.

HELSINKI, 16-Mar-2018 — /EuropaWire/ — The new 18,000 m2 facility, which will be located in Espenhaugen, Bergen, will consist of production, storage, and distribution of milk and juice. The total annual production capacity will be 45 million litres. When it comes into operation in August 2019, the new dairy will replace the company’s existing Bergen production facility, which will soon be outdated and could not be further modernised due to lack of site space.

In order to save energy, waste heat from the refrigerating machine will be utilised in heat pumps. In situations where the heat from the heat pumps is insufficient to cover the needs, district heating based on biofuel will be used. Thus, the current use of electricity for heating purposes will be replaced and the use of district heating diminished.

The estimated annual energy-efficiency gain in the new dairy is approximately 5 GWh, which corresponds to a decrease of around 40% in use of electricity compared to the situation before the investment. Additionally, an area of 6,200 m2 of the building’s roof will be equipped with photovoltaic solar panels, which are expected to generate 0.567 GWh of solar power annually. The use of water and the generation of wastewater are also forecast to diminish due to the investment. Furthermore, unlike the existing dairy, the new dairy is located in an industrial area outside the city of Bergen, and fewer people will be exposed to the heavy vehicles travelling to and from the dairy.

TINE SA is Norway’s largest producer, distributor and exporter of dairy products with 11,400 members (owners) and 9,000 cooperative farms. Tine has more than 1,300 product lines in their portfolio, produced at a total of 31 dairies throughout Norway.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Mr Vagn Lundhøj, Senior Manager Origination, at +358 10 618 0370, vagn.lundhøj@nib.int

Ms Niina Rantti, Communications Officer, at +358 10 618 0265, niina.rantti@nib.int

SOURCE: NORDIC INVESTMENT BANK