Belarus is set to finance the research into the wind potential of some 30 areas

By 2020 Belarus plans to reduce the greenhouse emissions by 600 million tonnes in the CO2 equivalent.


Alexander Grebenkov, a climate change expert, told that “From 1995 to 2008 Belarus reduced the greenhouse gas emissions by 134 million tonnes in the CO2 equivalent. From 2008 till 2010 we are going to cut the emissions by another 600 million tonnes.”

The expert noted that Belarus has the reserves and the potential for further reduction of gas emissions. “The carbon intensity of the Belarusian economy is a bit higher than the average one of the industrially developed countries but much lower compared with other transition economies.

The cuts of greenhouse gas emissions could be bigger in Belarus if the country got access to the new technologies and mechanisms of adapting to the climate change within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol.

Until the Belarusian amendment is ratified by the majority of the Kyoto signatories, Belarus will not be able to use these mechanisms, said Sergei Zavyalov, the chief of the special inspectorate of the state control service of the air, ozone layer and climate protection of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus.

The aggregate capacity of the Belarusian energy system is estimated at 8,000MW. The country has limited opportunities in terms of increasing the capacity of its energy system. “For example, we can squeeze 250MW from water resources, and some 8-10MW from landfill gas. We are also considering wind energy projects,” he said. The Ministry of Natural Resources is set to finance the research into the wind potential of some 30 areas.

Electrawinds (Belgium) has inquired about Belarus’ wind velocity with a view to constructing electric plants running on wind energy, meat production waste and other alternative energy.

The republic of Belarus imports about 86% of indispensable fuel and energy resources. Thus about 37% of gross consumption of fuel and energy resources in republic will be utilized in large power engineering (on heat and electric stations and boiler-houses) and about 50% - in housing and municipal quadrants.

In Belarus already is disbursed more halves of own reserves of not renewable energy and materials (for example, oil for 85 %, glass sand - on 60%, building sand, grit and clay for production of a brick - 50-60%).

Technological potential of a wind power in Republic of Belarus

In 1998 "Vetromash", "Goskomgidromed", "Belenergosetproekt" the operations on eliciting possible platforms for installation of wind turbines, and also eliciting of a Belarus wind energy potential were held. The following results were obtained: 1840 platforms with a communal engineering potential in 223 million MWh in a year are detected. An economical potential - 18 million MWh in a year, that
compounds 7% from territory suitable for a wind power.

The forecasts of Government of Republic of Belarus on usage of renewable energy

The forecast of Government of Republic of Belarus concerning usage of renewable energy could be obtained in "Reference directions of power policies of Republic of Belarus on 2001-2005 and on a period up to 2015 year", where is in particular said, the idealized potential of a wind power compounds 1600 MW with an annual development 6,5 million MWh.

But in the present period possible and economically justified the development of a potential in 300-350 MW or 1,0-1,5 million MWh. In Belarus for today the same situation, as well as in Germany in 1960-1970 years is supervised. There, when an industrial wind power only originated, and the powerful ambulances were indispensable, the group of the atomic power scientists has undertaken mining wind energy aggregates. In the total a full fall of the idea of usage of a wind power for the industrial purposes. And only that have picked up the given direction and successfully have advanced in Denmark, it in a consequence began to be developed and in Germany.

BelVetroEnergo LLC is one of the most competent wind energy consulting companies in the Republic of Belarus. The company is one of the founders of the Belarusian renewable energy association.

Source:evwind.es/

A year later, teen is back home in Belarus, happy

The sky is already darkening as I search for Tanya's home among the various structures that serve as houses in the village of Borisov, Belarus.

Her home lies on the outskirts of town. The streets are largely unmarked, muddy, unpaved and filled with deep rain puddles. Grandmothers fill buckets of water at the street corners to get water for homes largely lacking indoor plumbing, although they do have electricity. The neighborhood is a sort of ancient-looking shantytown. It is hard to guess the age of the homes, but most of them are barely standing and resemble the cottages one might expect in an old fairytale.

The drive from Minsk is the end of a long, two-day journey for project vice president Linda McMahon and me. We plan to check on the well-being of our program's former host child, Tanya Kazyra.

A homesick Tanya, then 16, returned to Belarus last November after she had chosen to stay on with her host family in Rohnert Park after the end of our summer health-respite program. Her refusal to leave caused the government of Belarus to shut down the program. The United States and Belarus have yet to come to an agreement that will allow us to resume our program.

We have spoken to Tanya on the phone and she is eager to see us. Our driver has made many stops and starts in the town as we try to find her home. Suddenly, her head pops out from a front-yard gate.

Tanya looks wonderful; her skin is clear and her figure trim. She rushes out and gives both Linda and me a big hug. Her grandmother follows behind her and embraces us as well. They both look so happy to see us. They escort us inside and take our hats, coats and scarves. Following their tradition, we also remove our shoes near the entrance.

Inside, the home is warm and cozy, but the smell of mold and mildew assails my sinuses. An old brick woodstove heats the home. White lace curtains hang on the windows and the walls are covered with flocked floral wallpaper. They give us the best seats in the house and Tanya's grandmother hurriedly unfolds a table from the wall and opens it up in front of us. She has known of our coming and has prepared many things for us, and also sets out a bottle of sweet red wine and a bottle of vodka.

I ask Tanya if I might use the restroom and she suddenly looks at me with teenage embarrassment. The house has no indoor plumbing and she apologizes as she leads me to the toilet, stopping first to put back on our coats and boots. I try to assure her that it is no big deal. The outhouse is immediately off the back of the house. The light fixture in the outhouse does not work, so I try to find my way around in the dark.

Tanya waits for me outside and takes me to the back porch, a rickety structure full of dry rot, and leads me to a sink. Next to the sink is a red child's sand bucket that is full of water. Tanya gently dips a cup into the bucket and apologizes for the coldness of the water as she pours it over my hands so I might wash them.

Tanya's aunt arrives with two of her children. She lives across the street with her husband and three of her four children. There is no sign of Tanya's father and he is not mentioned. Tanya's cousins are very charming and it is easy to see how fond she is of them. The cousins and aunt join us for the meal of potato latkes, chicken, bread, cheeses and cold cuts. At the end of the meal, a beautiful cake purchased from a local bakery is brought out and served with tea.

After the meal, Tanya leads us back to her bedroom, which is decorated with stuffed animals and pictures of her friends and family. She is particularly proud of a picture of her with her college class. She beams as she tells us that she is finally getting good grades! She expresses some dismay that she is forgetting her English, although we assure her she is doing quite well.

We ask how it went upon her return to Belarus, if the teachers and students treated her well at school. She tells us that many of the students were angry with her for the cancellation of the program and a teacher was giving her a bad time, but the principal put a stop to the harassment. She expresses sadness that the children she was with in our program for so many years are probably angry with her now that they can no longer travel to the United States for health respites in the summertime.

As the evening grows late, Tanya plays with her kittens and her young cousins while her grandmother and aunt watch over her. Despite the meager surroundings and a home that would be destined for condemnation in most places in America, Tanya is happy and surrounded by love.

Ruth Hansen--Williams is visiting the Ukraine and Belarus to produce a documentary on the children of Chernobyl with the working title of "Little Chernobyl." The documentary is being filmed by Peripheral Productions. The corporate sponsor is Cotati Ambulance Company, Pro-Transport One.

She is accompanied by Linda McMahon of Petaluma, vice president of the Chernobyl Childrens Project of Sonoma and Marin counties. It is the group's first trip into the region in 20 years.

Until is was suspenced last year, the project had provided Belarusian children with an annual six-week reprieve from the lingering radiation effects that plagued their country following the 1986 nuclear disaster in neighboring Ukraine.

Source:pressdemocrat.com