In Ukraine, specialists in the field of bioenergy note the increase in community demand for information on the preparation of biofuel projects to replace natural gas for budget institutions, including hospitals, schools, kindergartens, etc.
People understand the importance of an autonomous or backup source of heat, especially in wartime conditions, reports Ukrainian Energy.
However, such projects require long-term preparation, and the start-up of a biomass boiler house becomes a task for the next heating season.
The head of the All-Ukrainian Agency for Investments and Sustainable Development, Yuliya Usenko, said that in order to transfer budget institutions from gas to biomass, communities need to carry out the preparatory stage on their own.
She noted that it is necessary to study the community's resource potential, that is, what can be used: forest waste, grain crops, sunflowers, whether there is land for growing energy crops. It is also worth conducting such studies in neighboring communities.
"The next step is to understand how to get biofuel from this raw material. Next comes the issue of finding funding sources," Usenko said.
She suggested that currently the initiators lack confidence in their success to scale such projects.
"First of all, there is a fear – I will give up the gas I am used to. But I have enough knowledge, resources, and the ability not only to implement the project, but to provide each heating season with a different type of fuel, which I still do not understand (from the point of view of application to practice)", explained the specialist.
The expert believes that it is worth starting a training center, perhaps on the basis of the Ministry of Regions, where proactive representatives of the community will learn to build projects and train personnel.
"We feel that the communities lack independence and experience, understanding where to look for funding. Therefore, we really need people in the communities who have acquired the experience and skills to prepare and implement such projects on their own," said Usenko.
In the material, it was noted that despite the significant potential of biomass and the high price of natural gas, the process of its widespread substitution today inhibits the general subsidization of gas prices for domestic consumers. However, the provision of autonomous and reserve heat supports the interest of communities in the implementation of biomass boilers in the budget sector.
However, communities need not only investment support for biomass projects, but also help in training their own project specialists. According to experts, this allows community residents to independently implement and manage bioenergy projects on local resources and scale up successful practices.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the economic consultant Vadym Novikov said that for Ukraine replacement of natural gas with biomass waste is the easiest and cheapest way to get rid of dependence on Russian gas.
As previously reported by EcoPolitic, MEPs voted for the installation of limitation on the amount of primary wood biomass, which can be considered a source of renewable energy and its exclusion from subsidies.
