The Group’s total consumption of energy was 6 per cent higher in 2009 than in 2007 and 2008. The share of indirect energy consumed by Orion’s facilities is 90 per cent, and the consumption is increasing. Direct energy is mainly generated by the boiler facility adjacent to Orion’s manufacturing facilities in Espoo, which uses heavy fuel oil to produce heat energy which in turn is used to produce steam for the plants. The much smaller pharmaceutical plant in Kuopio has its own steam boiler which uses light fuel oil.

Total electricity consumption has remained steady during the three-year reporting period, although the pharmaceutical plants in Espoo, Turku and Kuopio have managed to reduce their consumption somewhat. Total consumption of district heat and steam increased by 14 per cent from 2008 to 2009, due to a colder winter and higher operation rates of the pharmaceutical plants. Total indirect energy consumption was significantly lower in 2008 and 2009 than in 2007 despite increased manufacturing volumes.

Fermion’s plants, which manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) chemically, use a little over one third of all energy consumed by Orion. The combustion plant in Hanko, which was taken into use in 2008, is owned by Ekokem. It burns the solvent-containing waste gases of the plant. In 2008, the plant produced some 9 GWh and in 2009 as much as 15 GWh of district heat energy for the plant, thus considerably reducing the proportion sourced from Fortum.