Polotsk creates an innovative energy development plan

August 3, Polotsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Experts from the Spanish company "Bionet" and the Institute of Energy of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus today presented to Polotsk specialists the first working version of the Sustainable Energy Development Plan for Polotsk within the framework of the European project SURE, BELTA correspondent reports.

As Chairman of the Polotsk City Executive Committee Alexander Poznyak noted at the opening of the working meeting, the implementation of the sustainable energy development plan is important and necessary for the city. "Investments in innovative energy saving will be an impetus for the development of Polotsk and will benefit its residents," he is convinced.

Based on the analysis of the current situation in the field of energy consumption and energy saving, and the results of energy audits of 10 Polotsk facilities conducted by specialists from the Institute of Energy of the National Academy of Sciences, Spanish specialists from "Bionet" proposed a plan for the city to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2020 by implementing measures aimed at reducing consumption and stimulating the use of renewable energy sources in the city. In particular, it is proposed to carry out energy-saving measures in utility and residential buildings, in the city lighting system, in urban and private transport, and at housing and communal services enterprises. In addition, experts have proposed to make wider use of local and renewable energy sources for electricity production.

For example, a photovoltaic installation, which experts propose to install in the production building of the motor transport depot, will save 10.2 MW/h per year with a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 4.63 tons per year. The placement of a biomass production unit with a pellet boiler in the library will provide electricity savings of about 130 MW/h per year and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 26.4 tons.

As explained to a BELTA correspondent by Ivan Shchedrenok, Director of the institution "Interaktsiya", Secretary Expert of the project "Sustainable Energy Development in Cities of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument - Towards the Covenant of Mayors", the final sustainable energy development plan for Polotsk will be presented in October-November. By the end of the year, it is planned to be approved at a session of the City Council of Deputies and to commence the implementation of a pilot project recommended by experts.

The development and implementation of the Sustainable Energy Development Plan is a mandatory condition for Polotsk to join the Covenant of Mayors, a European network of cities committed to significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Polotsk plans to join the Covenant of Mayors in September of the current year, thus becoming the first Belarusian participant in this European initiative.

The working meeting is attended by specialists from Polotsk and the Vitebsk region dealing with energy issues in the city, experts from the SURE project from Belarus, Germany, and Spain, as well as employees of the Institute of Energy of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Participants of the working meeting are discussing proposals from Belarusian and Spanish experts regarding a pilot project on energy saving, for the implementation of which approximately 40 thousand euros will be allocated from the SURE project budget.

The project "SURE: Sustainable Energy for Urban Development in ENPI Countries - Towards the Covenant of Mayors" is being implemented under the EU CIUDAD programme. The project is designed for 30 months and has a budget of approximately EUR 790,000. The project aims to promote sustainable energy development in two cities of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument - Polotsk and Salé (Morocco) - by joining the Covenant of Mayors and committing to the implementation of the EU strategy known as "20-20-20". The strategy's goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20%, increase the share of alternative energy sources to 20%, and improve energy efficiency by 20% by 2020. Project partners include the administrations of the cities 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-