00011748

Completed projects

Core result: Low emissions energy technologies including renewable energy, energy efficiency and/or advanced fossil fuel technologies introduced.

The project will address the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Belarus by increasing the capacity of the government to support biomass energy projects and the capacity of customers to finance and implement them.

This project will follow on the following objectives:
- strengthening institutional capacity to support biomass energy projects;
- establishing a track record for investments in sustainable biomass energy projects, including both fuel supply and demand;
- developing straightforward financial "starter" mechanism in a challenging investment climate that will allow continued financing of biomass energy and provide public and private investors allow continued financing of biomass energy projects;
- overcoming negative perceptions of biomass energy and provide public and private investors with much-needed market information.

The project is highly relevant for Belarus, a country with few traditional energy resources (natural gas, oil, coal) and therefore highly dependent on imports. The most important natural resource of Belarus are the forests, which cover 36% of the country.

The annual increase in wood resources is 25 million compressed cubic meters. Logging takes place reaching 10 million cubic meters per year and is increasing from year to year.

Given increasing harvesting of wood in the country, the amount of wood-waste resulting from wood logging and processing will also increase. In that regard, it is critical to use the currently unused wood-waste as fuel to replace imported natural gas and heavy oil. This is primarily waste from wood harvesting and unused processing waste. Approximately 6 million cubic meters of wood-waste could be used as fuel, experts estimate.

Approximately 2,000 boiler houses sized from 0,5 to 10MW and fired by fossil fuel are suitable for conversion to wood biomass.

Let it be noted that the Project "Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in Belarus" completely rules out the possibility of using wood from Chernobyl-affected areas for the purposes of the project.

All project's demonstration sites lie remote from contaminated areas which can be clearly seen on the available map.

Web site of the project

09/2003 - 05/2008

Minsk

US$ 3,129,000

GEF

US$ 2,915,000

Access to sustainable energy services

Committee on Energy Efficiency under the Council of Ministers of Belarus

Lev Dubovik, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Standardization, Director of the Department for Energy Efficiency

Phone: + 375 17 227 50 51

Project Manager: Vladimir Voitekhovich
tel.: + 375 (17) 2013411
e-mail:

web site: http://www.bioenergy.by/en/

UNDP Programme Officer: Mr. Dzmitry Halubouski
E-mail:

   Project Document (PDF)

TOUR REPORTS STUDY

Tour dedicated to Biofuel technologies:

Study Tour Report (German) pdf. 
Study Tour Report (English) pdf.

Study Tour dedicated to biomass fired boilers and combustion technologies:

Study Tour Boilers Report  doc.

Other publications:

Draft “Wood energy brochure”  pdf.

UNDP/GEF project on utilizing biomass energy for heating and hot water supply, implemented by the Energy Efficiency Committee, produced tangible results in 2005, with the first demonstration site – a woodwaste-fired boiler of the wood processing company Volat-1 Ltd. located in the town of Uzda – reaching reductions of CO2 emissions of more than 1000 tons.

Thanks to this project, in November 2005, the Council of Ministers of Belarus issued an order to the Energy Efficiency Committee to establish a bioenergy revolving fund as a financial mechanism for promoting energy efficiency and bioenergy projects in Belarus beyond the UNDP/GEF project.

The project has elaborated a training programme and organized first training session for housing and municipal energy specialists on the issues of wood fuel procurement, transport and combustion. In October 2005 ten Belarusian specialists and managers took part in a study tour to Finland to find out about best international experience in wood fuel converting and transporting technology.

A UNDP/GEF project on biomass energy was another instrument to contribute to reduced GHG emissions:

1. First Project demonstration site (wood waste fired boiler house equipped with 2 boilers 1MW each at "Volat-1" private company) was put into operation September 16, 2004 - the day of ozone layer protection. During 2004 167 tons of coal equivalent saved and 276 tons of CO2 emissions reduction achieved. During first quarter of 2005 163 tons of coal equivalent saved and 270 tons of CO2 reduction achieved.

2. The second demonstration site funded from the project revolving fund - big size combined heat and power plant 2,5 MWel located at "Mostovdrev" Joint Stock Company is under construction now.

3. Two study tours of Belarusian technical specialists and decision makers in Austria and Czech Republic were conducted in 2004 and 2005 within the framework of the project. Belarusian delegates learned both technologies of biomass fuel production, transportation and modern biomass fired boiler houses and combined heat and power plants operation.

4. Three international project seminars dedicated to modern technologies of biomass fuel production and and technologies of its combustion and boilers production were conducted during 2003-2005

5. Three project experts specialized in design and creation of Project Geographic Information and Analytical Systems (GIS) were trained and obtained certificates in Russia in "Distributed Information-Analytical Center for Intelligent Technologies" (CINTECH).

6. Draft twinning agreement between "LEV" energy and consulting agency (Austria) and "Belinvestenergosberezhenie" consulting agency (Belarus) was prepared within the framework of the project, coordinated and sent for signature.

7. Draft documents for a Revolving Fund set up (the RF charter and draft Council of Ministers Decree) were prepared, coordinated with Ministries of Justice, Power, Finances, Foreign Affairs, Economy and National Bank and submitted to the Government for consideration and approval.

8. Draft Wood Energy Brochure was prepared by Project International Consultant in English and Russian.

06.12.2006: Prospects of bio-energy development in Belarus are more optimistic due to UNDP Project

05.12.2006: Address by Ms. Cihan Sultanoglu, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus, at the Biomass Workshop

22.11.2005: UNDP trains housing and communal services staff in biomass energy

30.03.2005: The UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus visited the first demonstration site of the UNDP/GEF Project "Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in Belarus"

04.02.2005: Minsk International Workshop considers biomass usage issues

03.02.2005: A workshop dedicated modern biomass fired boilers and boiler technologies under the UNDP/GEF project "Biomass Energy For Heating and Hot Water Supply in Belarus" was held in Minsk February 03, 2005

03.01.2005: Interview of Ms. Cihan Sultanoglu, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus, for BelaPAN Information Company

16.09.2004: An official start-up of the first demonstration site - a boiler-house of the "Volat-1" - took place in Uzda

09.06.2004: A workshop dedicated biomass use under the UNDP-GEF project "Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in Belarus" was held in Minsk June 09, 2004.

02.12.2003: The initial workshop within the framework of the UNDP/GEF Project "Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in Belarus was held December 02, 2003"

Photo archive
Biomass Workshop “National Plan on Providing Sustainable Development of Bio-Energy and Dissemination of the Project Activities Results”, Minsk, 5 December 2006

UNDP Seminar "Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in Belarus", Minsk, February 3, 2005

An official start-up of the first demonstration site – a boiler-house of the "Volat-1" PK LLC, working on wood wastes, Uzda, 16 September 2004

A workshop held under the UNDP-GEF project "Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in the Republic of Belarus", Minsk 9 June 2004

"Biomass Energy": Belarus Replaces Fossil Fuels for Renewable Energy

The First Biomass Energy Project Launched in Belarus

Voitekhovich V.N., "Come for advantage". ("Natsionalnaya Ekonomicheskaya Gazeta ("National Economic Newspaper"), No. 15, 2005).

Voitekhovich V.N.,"The "Warm" Project", ("Natsionalnaya Ekonomicheskaya Gazeta ("National Economic Newspaper"), No. 100 (817), December 28, 2004)

Shenets L.V.. "The queue should be available for the right of wood fuel use". ("Natsionalnaya Ekonomicheskaya Gazeta ("National Economic Newspaper"), No. 54, 2004.

Shenets L.V.. "Austria - Belarus. Experience in wood fuel use". ("Energoeffektivnost", Journal, No.11, 2004).

Fedorenchik A.S. "Use of biomass in Austria for energy production purposes". Forestry Industry of Belarus Journal, ¹ 4, 2004.

Voitekhovich V.N.,"Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in the Republic of Belarus" ("Belorousskaya Lesnaya Gazeta ("Belarusian Forest Newspaper"), No. 40 (407), October 28, 2004)

Kuzmenkov Ì.Â. "Heat and Power Engineering. Alternative is always available.. Áåëîðóññêàÿ ëåñíàÿ ãàçåòà., ("Belorousskaya Lesnaya Gazeta ("Belarusian Forest Newspaper"), No. 40 (407), October 28, 2004).

Voitekhovich V.N., "The Project of the Republic of Belarus, the UN Development Programme/the Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF)", Energoeffectivnost Journal. 10, 2004).

Fedoseyev V.G. and others, "Organisation of Production and Supply of Wood Chips at Mini-CHP in Vileika, Minsk Region"("Energoeffektivnost", Journal, No. 10, 2004).

Shenets L.V. "All reserves shall be used to reach the target ". ("Energoeffektivnost", Journal, No. 10, 2004).

Bolshakov À.G. "Wartsila Biopawer: Green Power from Finland".,("Energoeffektivnost", Journal, No. 10, 2004).

Fedoseenko N.V. "UNDP/GEF, Energy Efficiency Committee - cooperation for the welfare of the Republic, "Energoeffectivnost Journal", ¹ 11, 2003.

Lukashevich J. "Sawdust without use, branches without fire". "Power engineering & Fuel and Energy Complex Journal", ¹ 9, 2003.