MINSK, 27 February (BelTA) – A new biogas complex with the output capacity of 272kW was commissioned by the municipal water supply and wastewater treatment enterprise in Slonim, Grodno Oblast thanks to financial assistance of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), BelTA has learned.
Two biogas plants have been built thanks to a €2.85 million loan from the EBRD. They will generate about 2GWh of green electricity per annum. They will provide about 70% of the energy the Slonim water and wastewater treatment facility needs. Apart from that, carbon dioxide emissions will drop by more than 246,000 tonnes per annum.
The EBRD loan was complemented by a grant from the Swedish government as well as by funds allocated by Austria and Finland.
The project is expected to serve as an example for implementing similar energy-effective solutions in other Belarusian cities and will help introduce more effective methods for recycling wastewater sludge, which may consequently be converted into fertilizers.
The EBRD is a multilateral bank fostering the development of the private sector and entrepreneurship initiatives in 38 economies on three continents. The bank's shareholders are 69 countries as well as the European Union and the European Investment Bank (EIB). Since the EBRD began working in Belarus in 1992, the bank has invested nearly €2.9 billion in 130 projects in various branches of the national economy.
