Project background
Moldova Energy and Biomass Project envisages contributing to the establishment of a reliable, competitive and sustainable system to produce energy from renewable sources, especially out of agricultural waste biomass. The Project will enhance the consumption of renewable energy, mainly by the rural municipal institutions and households.
This should lead to the creation of operational biomass processing technology markets, which would ensure sustainability to Project interventions after its completion. New jobs will be created and new income sources will be ensured as a result of setting certain biofuel distribution channels and providing with advanced technologies at the local and regional levels.
Implementation period: 2011-2014
Budget: The Project total budget amounts for €14.56 million, provided by the European Union (€14 million) and UNDP Moldova (€0.56 million)
Deliverables by 2014:
- 130 biomass heating systems with the overall power capacity of 35 MWh will be installed in municipal institutions from rural communities, e.g. schools, kindergartens, community centres, medical centres, etc.;
- Agricultural businessmen will be actively involved in the production, storage and supply of biofuel to Beneficiaries;
- Agricultural businessmen will be able to purchase, by way of leasing, biomass processing and biofuel producing machinery;
- New businesses will be launched and new jobs will be created at the local level;
- 500 households will be provided with modern briquette/pellet-fired boilers;
- Briquette and pellet-production and supply processes will be piloted;
- One co-generation plant will be built to produce heat and electricity out of agricultural wastes, having covered in this way the heat demand for own consumption;
- The local public authorities, public institution managers, local agricultural businessmen will acquire knowledge and skills in producing and using biomass energy;
- The population, local public authorities, private sector, and the civil society will be informed accordingly about the opportunities and benefits of renewable energy source deployment;
- Renewable energy will play a major role in enhancing the rural communities' energy security and economic growth.
Why do we need renewable energy?
The Republic of Moldova depends heavily on energy imports; thus, 95 % of its energy needs are covered by imports. The dependence on external energy sources has led to constant price increases and accumulation of huge debts towards the foreign supplier. The energy sector is vital for the country economic development. The Moldovan Government committed itself to reform the energy sector through enhancing the energy security, diversifying the energy sources and attracting investments to this area. By 2020, the authorities opt to increase the share of renewable energy up to 20% of the total country energy consumption - an objective stated in the Energy Strategy of the Republic of Moldova. The country has got a pretty high potential for the production of renewable energy, which is so far unexploited.Biomass is the most abundant alternative energy source in the Republic of Moldova.
Three figures in favour of biomass energy:
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Biomass used for energy purposes may cover almost 20% of the annual energy consumption in Moldova
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The fuel produced out of biomass is equivalent to 50% of the imported natural gas.
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We can heat all the country schools and kindergartens with biomass energy.
The energy produced out of own sources is beneficial for several reasons: it reduces the dependence on imports, enhances the country energy security, has lower costs, enables the development of new businesses and creation of new jobs. Moreover, it reduces the GHG emissions and air pollution.
Biomass fuel
The Moldova Energy and Biomass Project (MEBP) aims to support the establishment of one commercial biomass processing business of approximately 1,000 tonnes/year using biomass derived from agricultural waste or from by-products of an agri-industrial process. In order to successfully implement this activity, a study was conducted during the first stage to estimatethe energy potential of biomass for briquetting from agricultural crops, at regional and rayon levels.
The analysis identified the biomass potential for briquetting in each district for several types of agricultural biomass. The information obtained will be used as reference while picking up the potential beneficiaries for MEBP support in Moldova.
Another objective of this activity is to encourage the creation of Public-Private Partnerships, which would demonstrate the viability and feasibility for enterprises - producers of fuel out of the local raw material.
The competition will be launched for Local Governments of all levels, along with a local contractor, which would demonstrate that the proposed model is realistic and capable of being implemented in the village or community they represent.
Because of the financial support extended by MEBP, the selected beneficiary will be able to cover part of the investment costs incurred for the procurement of the biomass processing equipment, with the remaining part covered by the beneficiary.
It is assumed that the local government would give the private counterpart the right to manage and use the equipment within the PPP. The pricing for the produced fuel will be set up jointly within the partnership.
The expected impact resulting from the implementation of biomass processing is the possibility to enhance energy safety of rural communities throughout the country, to foster the development of enterprises for processing locally available biomass, and to set up sustainable partnerships, that contribute to the economic development of villages and regions.