The share of local fuel types in housing and communal services organizations of the Vitebsk region is over 70%
The President and the Government of the Republic of Belarus have set the task of reducing the cost of housing and communal services without deteriorating their quality. The implementation of innovative technologies and professional training of personnel allow us to bring the housing and communal services sector to a qualitatively new level. Vadim Seleznev, Head of the Regional Department for Supervision of Rational Use of Fuel and Energy Resources of the Department for Energy Efficiency of the State Committee for Standardization of the Republic of Belarus, spoke about the work being carried out in this area in the Vitebsk region.
As Vadim Vitalievich noted, the most costly component in the structure of the cost of production and sale of thermal energy in housing and communal services organizations is the fuel component. One way to reduce energy costs is to increase the share of local fuel and energy resources such as wood chips and milled peat. This, in turn, leads to a decrease in the use of imported natural gas for heating and hot water supply needs, thus contributing to strengthening the country's energy security.
Increasing the share of local fuel and energy resources in the total fuel consumption is one of the target indicators of energy saving. The tasks are set annually by resolutions of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus and decisions of the regional executive committees. For example, in 2020, the planned indicator for the share of local types of fuel, established for the main department of housing and communal services of the regional executive committee, was 71 percent.
Vadim Seleznev noted that the Vitebsk region was one of the first in the republic to start implementing boiler units with mechanized loading that use wood chips as fuel. Active work in this direction has been carried out for 15 years. In accordance with the state program "Energy Saving" for 2016-2020, 20 boiler units with a total capacity of 40.5 megawatts have been commissioned in the region's housing and communal services system.
Vitebsk region sets the tone for increasing the use of local energy resources in the housing and communal services system. According to the results of 2019, the share of local fuels in the region's housing and communal services organizations was 70.4 percent (the rest is mainly natural gas), and in the first quarter of 2020, it was 71.3 percent. At the same time, the republican indicator is 52 percent. The cost of generating 1 gigacalorie from wood chips in 2019 was 100.5 rubles, and from milled peat, it was 95 rubles, which is 11 and 16 percent lower than from natural gas, respectively.
– This is how we reduce our dependence on external energy suppliers and develop our own production of heat engineering equipment, – noted Vadim Seleznev.
He emphasized that behind every gigacalorie is the work of specialists from the forestry industry, operational services, utility workers, designers, and equipment manufacturers. For example, the scientific and production enterprise "Belkotlomash" in Beshenkovichi, which designs and manufactures heating equipment for industrial enterprises and housing and communal services, successfully operates in the global market.
In addition to the widespread use of local fuels, housing and communal services organizations are also working on other energy-saving measures: implementing measures for the rational use of thermal energy, replacing heat networks with pre-insulated pipes (the most in-demand for laying heat pipelines), replacing worn-out boiler equipment, and much more.
Another modern trend in energy saving is the use of solar energy, the installation of solar collectors. Here, it should be noted the UP "OrshaTeploseti". The enterprise has already implemented three projects for the use of solar energy and plans to implement as many more for hot water supply needs this year.
The introduction of solar collector systems during the inter-heating period allows for a complete refusal to use traditional heat sources, which in turn leads to a reduction in heat energy losses during its transportation. In addition, there is convenient installation, simple maintenance, and a long service life.