A large investment project is being implemented in the Lepel district

A large pilot investment project with a total cost of approximately 24 billion rubles has been launched at KUPP "Borovka" in Lepel District.

- Our idea is being implemented within the framework of the program "Support for Regional and Local Development in Belarus" through funds from an International Technical Assistance Project financed by the European Union, and the enterprise's own funds, - said Andrey Bolotnik, Head of the Production and Technical Department of the enterprise.

Last year, at a seminar in Minsk, together with representatives of the European Union, ministries of economy, energy, housing and communal services, transport, and others, the situation in the regions was analyzed to develop a program for sustainable regional development. Its main part consists of pilot projects. Four directions were proposed: tourism development, cycling movement, waste management, and green energy. However, ideas were supposed to originate from the local level.

-We chose green energy because energy resources are expensive, and the team is constantly looking for ways to reduce expenses and costs, increase efficiency and savings, - emphasized Andrey Leonidovich. - We are constantly interested in new developments, and this is not our first project. Not so long ago, for example, with the help of innovation fund resources, a line for the production of pellets from wood waste was launched. In general, we pay great attention to local types of fuel and renewable energy sources. That is why the proposal for processing straw was born: to grind it, briquette it, and then use it as fuel in the boiler houses of enterprises. We settled on a mobile unit that works directly in the field. This eliminates the need to transport raw materials somewhere for processing and organize production facilities. A tractor drives right up to the haystack, and without preliminary drying, the straw is ground and pressed into briquettes. To burn them with the greatest efficiency, we also provided for the replacement of five old boilers at some boiler houses that have exhausted their technical resources.

An important aspect is that the enterprise has accumulated a large amount of accounts receivable from agricultural enterprises. The implementation of the project will allow for mutual benefit: utility companies will receive fuel, and agricultural producers will have the opportunity to pay off debts through set-offs when settling for straw.

A total of 25 proposals from all regions of our country were submitted for the idea competition. A special commission analyzed them, and after consultation with the sectoral ministries of the Republic of Belarus, priority areas were selected – there were 16 of them. The idea of the Lepel residents also received approval.

Representatives of the European Union have already visited the village of Borovka, familiarized themselves with the activities of the utility enterprise, its production facilities and capabilities, and exchanged views with local specialists. It was then that another proposal was put forward: to use solar energy more actively.

By next year, the "Borovka" UP will have two mobile straw briquetting complexes operating within the project, and three boiler houses of the enterprise will be equipped with modern boilers for their efficient combustion. The central boiler house of the village of Borovka will be fitted with a photoelectric system and a heat pump to generate thermal and electrical energy, while the boiler house of the art base microdistrict will be equipped with solar collectors, which will fully provide hot water for two 60-apartment residential buildings.

According to calculations, all this will reduce the cost of 1 Gcal of heat by up to 13%, reduce the accounts receivable of agricultural enterprises by using their raw materials in briquette production, and decrease the consumption of fuel and energy resources for heat generation by 5-6%.

The project is jointly financed: 21 billion rubles of foreign investment for the purchase of equipment, conducting competitions, tenders, etc.; 3 billion rubles from the enterprise itself will be allocated for the preparation of design and estimate documentation and the execution of construction and installation works.

Currently, the equipment supply specification has been formed, an agreement has been signed, and tenders have been held, which were won by Polish and Italian firms. The mobile straw briquetting complexes are scheduled to arrive in Borovka in November, and the thermal boilers in December of this year. The delivery of solar collectors and the power station is planned for February-March, and the project completion is scheduled for July 2016.

Elena Telyatko, "Vitebskiye Vesti".