Three pellet production plants are planned to be opened in the forestry enterprises of the Vitebsk region in 2010

October 21, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Three plants for the production of fuel pellets are planned to be established in the forestry enterprises of the Vitebsk region in 2010, said acting General Director of the Vitebsk State Production Forestry Association (VGPPLHO) Nikolai Privalov to a BELTA correspondent. The regional program "Forest" provides for the establishment of plants in the Begomlsky, Tolochinsky, and Surazhsky forestry enterprises. In the remaining 16 forestry enterprises of the region, small-scale pellet production facilities will be opened next year. Thus, the production of fuel pellets is planned to be increased from 7.2 thousand tons in 2009 to 38.4 thousand tons in 2010. The consumption of small-sized and low-grade wood, which is not in demand by woodworking enterprises, is one of the tasks of the region's forestry organizations, Nikolai Privalov emphasized. New capacities for the production of an environmentally friendly type of fuel will help solve it. Along with the creation of pellet production facilities in the forestry enterprises of the region, it is planned to organize new production facilities for the output of wood fuel chips. This year, such a facility was launched at the Begomlsky forestry enterprise, and the second one at the Lepelsky forestry enterprise will start producing chips in November. Firewood and woodworking waste serve as raw materials for chips. The expected capacity of the new production facilities is 10 thousand cubic meters of fuel per year. About Br2.4 billion, funds from the Ministry of Energy and forestry enterprises, were allocated for their creation and technical equipment. The main consumers of chips will be enterprises of the Ministry of Energy and the housing and communal services. As Nikolai Privalov noted, the production of wood chips has been established in almost all forestry enterprises of the association. This year, its production will amount to 60 thousand cubic meters, and in 2010 it will increase to 80 thousand cubic meters. According to expert estimates, the volumes of chip and pellet production planned for 2010 will allow replacing imported energy resources in the amount of 37.2 thousand tons of conventional fuel. -0-