February 3, the Conference Hall of the "Yubileynaya" Hotel in Minsk hosted a workshop, named same as the Project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) "Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in Belarus." The event, which was attended by about a hundred participants from Belarus, Russia, Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, and Austria, was dedicated to considering modern technologies of woodwaste combustion for thermal and electric power generation, and to sharing international experiences in manufacture of boilers and construction of boiler houses and thermal power plants (TPPs), which use biomass as fuel. Inter alia, the audience touched on the topic of cooperation between the Belarusian and foreign manufacturers of boiler equipment.

Mr. Roman Shirma, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Energy Efficiency at the Council of Ministers of Belarus, and Ms Cihan Sultanoglu, the UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative, addressed the participants of the forum with their welcoming speeches. "Sustainable energy is one of the key items on UNDP’s agenda worldwide," Ms Sultanoglu stated, "and renewables and energy efficiency initiatives will continue to be a priority in our cooperation with the Government of Belarus."

According to the UN Resident Coordinator, a wider application of local renewable sources of energy, like woodwaste, can be a good way of diversifying Belarus' energy production, thereby reducing the current high dependency on energy imports. At the same time, woodwaste offers a low-carbon alternative to other traditional fuels, like peat. "The experience of UNDP worldwide clearly indicates that extraction of this non-renewable source of energy not only threatens landscape and biological integrity, but also leads to huge CO2 emissions. Therefore, it is critical that Belarus presents to the international community a consistent strategy, in which its economic demands and energy efficiency policy are balanced with environmental requirements," Ms Sultanoglu has emphasized.

Addressing the audience, Yevgeniy Nadezhdin, the Regional Adviser for Power of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) said that, in his opinion, the Project "Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in Belarus" has laid the basis for the Belarusian Government's understanding of the importance of using biological fuels. He also stressed the necessity for Belarus to access the Kyoto Protocol. "Should it happen, it will be much easier for us to attract investments of foreign funds to Belarus after the Project," - Mr. Nadezhdin said. For reference: the Project "Biomass Energy for Heating and Hot Water Supply in Belarus" is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Program, Global Environment Facility, Committee on Energy Efficiency and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The Project launched in September 2003 and scheduled for four years, is financed by the GEF. The total GEF's investments will make more than three million US dollars.

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