Braslav received a grant of 600,000 euros for the development of energy-saving technologies
Braslav has received a new grant of 600,000 euros for the development of energy-saving technologies under the international "Covenant of Mayors," as reported to a BELTA correspondent by the Deputy Chairman of the District Executive Committee, Andrei Davydenko.
The "Covenant of Mayors" (or "Agreement of Mayors") is a major project whose participants strive for sustainable energy development and economical use of fuel resources. 5,000 cities worldwide participate in the covenant. Braslav became the seventh in Belarus. According to the project, all cities voluntarily undertake the "20-20-20" commitments: to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20%, decrease energy consumption by the same amount, and increase the share of renewable energy sources to 20%. All this is to be achieved by 2020. In practice, the implementation of such a task involves each signatory city developing a Sustainable Energy Action Plan, which includes a series of measures to reduce resource consumption while maintaining the comfort of living for local residents.
By becoming a signatory to the "Covenant of Mayors," Braslav was able to participate in the competition for a grant from the European Commission under the program "Support for Eastern Partnership Cities in Implementing Sustainable Energy Development Action Plans within the Framework of the Covenant of Mayors Initiative." As a result, on December 30, the Braslav district signed a grant contract with the European Commission. Its competitive project, "Braslav District – the First Climate-Neutral Municipality in Belarus," envisages that by 2030, CO2 emissions in the region will be fully neutralized by oxygen sources. The total project budget is 735,000 euros, of which 600,000 are European funds. The implementation period is 30 months, with the active phase beginning in May 2015.
During this period, it is planned to conduct research on the use of renewable energy sources in the area, assess the capabilities of various energy-saving equipment and acquire it, and implement a number of demonstration projects. "For example, we want to install two boilers with a capacity of 1.5 MW each, which will use straw remaining in the fields after agricultural work as local fuel. Also, more than 1 km of heating networks will be replaced, solar collectors will be installed on the roofs of kindergartens for autonomous water heating. Another demonstration project will be the installation of a heat exchanger in one of the multi-story buildings that does not have central heating. We will install sound and motion sensors in the entrances, partially replace street lighting with LED lamps, and so on," said Andrey Davydenko, listing some of the activities planned in the project.
Today in Braslav, in addition to the launch of a new project to transform the district into the first climate-neutral municipality in Belarus, the results of another energy-saving project are being summarized. It was aimed at promoting energy-saving technologies and renewable energy sources at the local level, and has been implemented since 2012 with the support of the non-profit organization "Center for Environmental Solutions" through European funding. The project included a variety of activities, from seminars and study tours to neighboring countries to gain experience in using renewable energy sources, to the implementation of demonstration projects. For example, at the Braslav Historical and Local Lore Museum, an old boiler was replaced with a new energy-efficient one. This project was designed to demonstrate all the benefits of investing in energy-efficient equipment, which, although more expensive than conventional equipment, pays for itself many times over in the long run, and is also more environmentally friendly and safer. The plan of activities was completed with another demonstration project: solar collectors were installed on the building of the Braslav District Children and Youth Sports School to provide hot water for the school's showers from May to October. The devices, costing about 4 thousand euros, were purchased at the end of last year and are being presented today, along with the local energy and climate plans for the region developed during this time.
"Reducing energy consumption is one of the few items in the district budget where expenses can be significantly reduced. So far, our enterprises and organizations have not developed a clear system for assessing possible ways to reduce energy consumption, losses in engineering networks for delivering energy and resources to end consumers. Therefore, the development of local energy and climate plans is an important task. For the same purpose, in February 2014, Braslav joined the European Covenant of Mayors program," explained Andrey Davydenko.
The Deputy Chairman of the District Executive Committee added that the new project will be a direct continuation of this work. It is planned to start implementing a strategic plan for CO2 reduction using energy-saving technologies, improve the work of municipal service organizations in this sector, as well as involve the population in these processes and transfer best practices to other interested regions. "We want to demonstrate the potential of renewable energy sources. Water, sun, and other sources available to us, if they do not completely replace electricity, will significantly reduce its consumption. Our district already has many such examples. Popularizing them and understanding how they can be applied is important, as energy prices are constantly rising," Andrey Davydenko explained his vision of the new project's goals.
Ekaterina Knyazeva