«The goal is to achieve profitability»
Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that a few years ago the country was set a task — to produce pellets: to process, make granules from waste that spoils in the forest and use them as cheap and environmentally friendly fuel. «We use gas and oil products. And we need our own. This is waste — we need to process it, and wherever possible, heat the premises,» the head of state noted. Moreover, according to him, this applies not only to social, but also to industrial facilities.
«Yes, the sanctions hit us: Europe bought all this at certain prices, now they, having become stupid, shot themselves in the foot and do not buy it. They have a huge price for electricity, gas and so on. They will wake up. They will come to us,» Aleksandr Lukashenko is sure. At the same time, nothing prevents Belarusians from doing this now. The head of state noted that the population needs to be oriented towards the use of pellets, but due to the availability of gas and oil products, their acceptable cost, there is no urgent need to use biofuels for heating: they say, everything is fine as it is. «We need to develop this for the future. Because our children may not have cheap gas,» the Belarusian leader noted.
Aleksandr Lukashenko warned that the issue of using this type of fuel will be a priority. «Where should we put this waste? We need to process it into pellets. And this is our perspective,» the President emphasized.
Minister of Forestry Aleksandr Kulik reported that 64 pellet production plants with a total capacity of about 900 thousand tons per year have been created in Belarus. Aleksandr Lukashenko set the task of making the sale of pellets profitable. «At the expense of other areas, you get to profitable work. But all areas should profitable. This is your task, and you cannot calm down,» the head of state told the Minister of Forestry. «You need to look around. You see where everything is leading. Sanctions are not eternal. And, probably, Europe will become wiser and will still look at what is profitable for them. But we need to work now.»
«We should promote our own»
Aleksandr Lukashenko not only listened to reports on pellet production, but also got acquainted with the production itself. By the way, this is an environmentally friendly type of fuel that produces the least amount of ash. And, importantly, it is a completely renewable resource, since there is enough wood and its waste in the country.
The President was shown samples of finished woodworking products. Lyaskovichi complex has a high level of automation of production, which Aleksandr Lukashenko highly appreciated. «We need to really, without joking, follow this path. To have maximum automation. Then there will be labor resources.
The President was shown samples of domestically produced boiler equipment that runs on pellets. They are easy to use and maintain. Some models of boilers that run on pellets can even be controlled from a mobile phone, which is, of course, very convenient. Belarusian manufacturers have made universal models of boilers that run on wood chips, pellets, and firewood. Some models can easily heat a small factory, using pellets, of course. Aleksandr Lukashenko was closely interested in the aspects of the operation of these boilers, their capabilities. «We should promote our own,» the Belarusian leader noted.
The head of state inspected a boiler house that runs on pellets. In the summer, it needs to be loaded with this wood fuel only once a month, and in the winter — about once a week. The president highly appreciated what he saw. «This is a miracle for us, lying under our feet. And we make a miracle out of this junk,» he noted, speaking about the production of pellets. The Belarusian leader drew attention to the fact that such boiler houses are an excellent option for agro-towns, and instructed to work out the issue of their conversion to this type of fuel.
«It is import independence»
«Switching to pellets is not import substitution, it is import independence,» the Minister of Forestry Aleksandr Kulik said in a conversation with journalists. He said that last year Belarus consumed 43,000 tons of pellets, and the target for this year is 80,000 tons. According to the minister, it is planned to reach 200,000 tons by 2027.
Aleksandr Kulik said that the purpose of creating pellet production was the need to process sawdust. Money is made from what lies under your feet — in the most literal sense of the word. «Last year, we generated 680 thousand cubic meters of sawdust as a result of product production. One ton of pellets requires 2.5 cubic meters of sawdust. Here is simple arithmetic: the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture has created capacities for the production of 200–250 thousand tons of products,» the head of the department said. «There is enough waste in the forest. We currently do not need 3 million cubic meters of firewood lying in warehouses. Therefore, we can even increase pellet production capacities if there is demand.» Aleksandr Kulik said that in January-April, the population purchased 250 pellet boilers. Over the entire past year, the figure did not exceed two dozen.
Minister of Energy Denis Moroz drew attention to the fact that pellets are a fuel produced from a national product, regardless of sanctions and external suppliers. And this is a big advantage. He emphasized that the concept of energy security stipulates that it is necessary to develop local fuels. The Minister said that on the instructions of the President, the energy system is developing this area. «We mix pellets into wood chips to increase the calorific value of the fuel and improve its efficiency. We are currently building three large energy facilities where pellet boilers will be used,» the Minister of Energy said.
Kretski Vitali, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Standardization — Director of the Department for Energy Efficiency, told reporters that the use of local fuels allows Belarus to replace 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas. He gave figures: out of 11 thousand energy sources in the country, over 7 thousand have been transferred to the use of local fuels. Since 2010, 350 boiler houses that previously operated on natural gas have also been transferred to local resources. As Vitali Kretski explained, in terms of capacity this is comparable to the operation of one unit of a nuclear power plant. «The annual volume of use of local fuels allows us to replace 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas (we consume 17 billion per year). Despite the fact that 40 regions in the country have a share of local resource consumption of more than 70 %, we are not stopping there. «In the next five years, we have planned to switch at least 125 boiler houses exclusively to pellets,» said the Director of the Department for Energy Efficiency.
«You have to speed up twice and don’t forget about discipline»
The second topic of the President’s trip was agriculture. In Lyaskovichi, Aleksandr Lukashenko visited the local dairy complex.
Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that at the beginning of his presidential career he visited these places and this farm. The head of state recalled that times were difficult then, and in these places they still wanted to create the so-called «Polesie People’s Republic» and it was necessary to find a common language with the local people, among whom, according to him, there were quite a few idiots. It was not easy to convince the townspeople that Polesie could not exist and develop on its own. Aleksandr Lukashenko said that then he was offered to mow the grass together, which he was excellent at. And the Polesians appreciated it: «This is ours!» «I remembered these two words forever. It was behind Pripyat,» the President said.
As for the current moment, Lyaskovichi dairy complex of Agro-Lyaskovichi, JSC is currently undergoing modernization, using the best practices of Parokhonskoe, JSC as an example. The main source of revenue for the enterprise is the sale of livestock products.
The Polesians esteem their land
Viktor Shaibak, Director General of RUE «Managing Company of the Holding «Agro-Industrial Holding of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus», emphasized in a conversation with journalists that when creating comfortable conditions for animals, one must first think about creating comfortable conditions for people.
«If we increase milk and meat production, we increase revenue accordingly. Naturally, the products should be profitable. We need to achieve maximum profit from the production of these products, get added value and invest this money in the modernization of the enterprise, and first of all, in paying people. Because our people are a priceless gift. There is a shortage of personnel in agriculture, we need to attract young specialists — this is our big goal, which will be relevant for all agricultural enterprises in the country,» he noted.
Viktor Shaibak noted that «Parokhonskoe» has so far achieved better results than «Agro-Lyaskovichi». But the similarity of the two enterprises is that the feed necessary for milk and meat production is grown on reclaimed lands, which have a high fertility rate. «And today the task is to obtain high-quality grassy feed from reclaimed lands. Plus corn, which we grow today on an area of more than 1,700 hectares, which also goes to feed. These are two components of the similarity of farms where hardworking Polesians work, — he noted. — A Polesian is a person who is looking for a field. He/she found it and works on it. And he/she esteems this land. These are the best people in the country.»
Yuri Nazarov, the Head of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate, summed up the results of the trip in a conversation with journalists. As for wood processing, according to him, the production of wooden houses is being intensified. This will have a positive impact on the development of tourism, which God himself ordered to develop in Pripyat, the Belarusian Amazon. Wooden structures can also be used in the modernization of agricultural enterprises and sports facilities. Yuri Nazarov emphasized that the prospects for woodworking are very large. As for pellets, everything is obvious: they are easy to produce and use. «We need to be more decisive, not wait, for example, until that wood-fired boiler wears out and needs to be replaced — such investments will pay off faster. As for gas-fired boilers, they need to be converted into reserve ones. We need to make the most of what we have — local fuels, in the form of wood chips or pellets. And pellets are a panacea. If there is no possibility to connect an electric boiler or heat with gas, then there is no need to be clever — just load the pellets into the boiler bunker — and that’s it. «This is an obvious prospect, given our forest fund,» Yuri Nazarov summed up.
As for the further development of «Agro-Lyaskovichi», according to Yuri Nazarov, everything is clear here: in order to receive money from the sale of milk and meat, it is necessary to create conditions for keeping animals and working people. And a very important issue is the feed base. Here, farmers work with Polesie Institute of Plant Breeding. The bet is on perennial herbs, the experience of «Parokhonskoe» has shown the correctness of this choice.
Valeria Stetsko
Photo by BelTA
