Polotsk to teach its citizens energy saving during Energy Days

June 18, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Polotsk is going to teach its citizens energy saving during Energy Days, Anastasia Adamovich, head of the planning and economic department of the Polotsk communal unitary enterprise of housing and communal services, told a BELTA correspondent. The practical implementation of the European "20-20-20" strategy, of which Polotsk became a participant by signing the Covenant of Mayors in 2011, continues. From June 22 to 29, Energy Days will be held in the ancient city, the main goal of which is to involve as many residents as possible in energy saving, primarily young citizens. For them, there will be an Open Day at the Polotsk Thermal Power Plant and at "Polotskvodokanal". Schoolchildren will participate in the "We are for 20-20-20!" competition and the "I am for clean air" bike ride. Among large families raising more than five children, a "I save at home" family wall newspaper competition will be held. According to Anastasia Adamovich, all competition winners will receive prizes. For large families, the gifts are special - certificates for the purchase of low-energy electrical appliances. Adults will not be left out of the Energy Days either. For them, a regional exhibition-seminar "Renewable Energy Sources. State and Development Prospects, Energy-Saving Technologies and Equipment" and a conference "From an Energy-Saving House to an Energy-Efficient City" are being organized. In addition, buyers of household appliances with energy consumption class A in the stores "Gorizont", "Khoztovary", "1000 melochey", OJSC "Dom Torgovli" will receive energy-saving light bulbs as a gift from June 20 to 29. For all residents of Polotsk without exception, a presentation of the pilot project "Modernization of Street Lighting on Francysk Skaryna Avenue" will be held. On the central avenue of the city, 75 energy-saving lamps have been installed to replace outdated ones. The supplier of high-efficiency equipment was the design and engineering enterprise "CKB" of the National Academy of Sciences. LED lamps differ from traditional lamps by their long service life, up to 15 years, and high luminous efficiency. They save up to 30% of energy, do not contain harmful mercury-containing substances, are vibration-resistant, and are electrically and explosion-proof. The lighting replacement cost 42 thousand euros and was a pilot project of the Sustainable Energy Development Plan approved by the Polotsk City Executive Committee, which was developed during the implementation of the European Union project "SURE: Sustainable Energy Development in Cities of the Region - European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument on the Path to the Covenant of Mayors". Polotsk became the first city in Belarus to sign the Covenant of Mayors and join this global European initiative, thereby declaring its intention to achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by at least 20% by 2020, increase the share of alternative energy sources to 20%, and improve energy efficiency by 20%. As Anastasia Adamovich noted, the replacement of lamps and Energy Days are only the first steps on Polotsk's energy-efficient path. By the end of 2013, Polotsk also plans to develop a sustainable urban mobility plan. It will connect bicycle paths, parking spaces, and interchanges into a single system, and define zones without vehicle traffic to minimize environmental impact. The project "SURE: Sustainable Energy Development in Cities of the Region of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument - on the Path to the Covenant of Mayors" is being implemented under the EU CIUDAD program. The project is designed for 30 months, with a budget of approximately 790 thousand euros. The project aims to promote sustainable energy development in two cities of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) - Polotsk and Salé (Morocco) - by joining the Covenant of Mayors and undertaking commitments to implement the EU strategy known as "20-20-20". Project partners include the administrations of Friedrichshafen (lead partner, Germany), Murcia (Spain), Salé (Morocco), Polotsk City Executive Committee (Belarus), and the Mediterranean Commission of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (France). -0-