MINSK, 8 July (BelTA) – Head of the international technical aid project “Removing Barriers to Wind Power Development in Belarus” Marina Belous spoke about the results of its implementation at a press conference to discuss the state and prospects of renewable energy sources in Belarus on 8 July, BelTA has learned.
This year, the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry in asocial with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) finished implementing the international technical aid project that was launched in 2015. In line with the project, Belarus reevaluated and updated the state atlas of wind potential. “After measuring wind potential at the height of 100m, we saw that winds in Belarus are favorable for the development of wind power in the country. The atlas also includes an insolation map. There is enough sunshine in certain territories of Belarus for building solar power plants,” Marina Belous said.
The project also focused on advanced training of specialists who work in the renewable energy industry. Belarus prepared a detailed textbook that contains descriptions of specific cases and mistakes of state environmental expertise and environmental impact assessment during implementation of projects in the field of renewable energy sources.
“Belarus has done a lot to make its renewable energy industry develop the same way as in Germany, Denmark, and other advanced countries. The development is not only about output capacity, but also about the quality of projects, their implementation, and other aspects that contribute to achieving SDG 7 ‘Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all',” the expert stressed.
The project also dealt with such a global goal as reducing the impact on climate change and the level of greenhouse gas emissions, Marina Belous noted. “This topic is coming into prominence in view of the upcoming climate change conference that is due in November and of the EU plan to introduce the mechanisms of the Green Deal strategy. For example, next week, on 14 July, the EU will discuss the draft document on the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. This is a sort of a carbon tax on products imported to the EU. Of course, this is also an important matter for Belarus, because we are keen to study this topic and look into possible ways to prepare for the introduction of the tax. In view of this, the renewable energy industry is seen as one of possible ways to get ready for the introduction of the mechanism in the EU member states that are Belarusian trading partners,” she said.
