Anna Boss, Energy Specialist
Graduate engineer Anna Boss has been Rottneros’ energy specialist since early 2023. She has worked with energy issues for many years as a researcher and consultant.
Anna Boss was previously hired to carry out an energy audit at Rottneros Mill. When she saw that Rottneros was looking for an energy specialist for the innovation department, it was just the right time for her.
- I was tired of consulting and wanted to be in an industry ‘where it’s all happening’ and where you can follow what’s going on from start to finish, says Anna Boss.
Working as an Energy at Rottneros
- My role is to coordinate energy issues and how we will work on them in the future, producing audits and plans, and monitoring them. It also includes monitoring the outside world, for example if there are new smart innovations that can be useful to us, says Anna.
An energy audit examines, such things as where electricity enters the processes, what it’s used for, heat flows and where we should put our resources to make the best possible difference.
- We’re a small and good team in the Innovation Department; many people from several of our units are involved in the projects, she says.
Solar power farm reduces share of purchased electricity
Anna is involved in two major energy projects - a solar power farm and a battery storage facility being built at Rottneros Mill. The project team is currently evaluating the tenders received and awaiting various authorisations.
- We always need electricity for the factory. Vallvik Mill has its own steam turbine and there is currently no equivalent at Rottneros Mill. The solar power farm will produce 3 GWh of electricity/year, thus reducing the proportion of purchased electricity.
The farm will be located on an unused 3 ha landfill site between the mill and the E45 motorway. It will be completed by the summer of 2024.
The battery storage facility helps to balance the electricity grid
The battery storage facility consists of four large batteries and is built on a 400 square metre area. It will also be completed by the summer of 2024. In this case, it is more about selling a service to balance the electricity grid when needed. The need arises more and more often with the increasing proportion of renewable electricity on the grid.
- Svenska kraftnät pays for electricity that can be delivered to the grid within a few seconds when the frequency of the grid falls, or stored when the frequency is too high. The batteries can manage this, explains Anna.
Electricity from the grid must be produced and consumed at exactly the same time. In addition to the batteries, an inverter is needed to convert direct current to alternating current and a transformer to ensure it is at the correct voltage level.
