Over 7 million euros to be invested in bio-fuel enterprise from Moldovan town

Deputy Prime Minister Valeriu Lazar, Economy Minister, visited the first industrial-level bio-fuel factory in Moldova on 10 September, to get acquainted with the conditions of the unit’s construction and ensure the proper functioning of the project after its launch, the Economy Ministry’s communication and media relations department has reported.

The factory was built by the German enterprise Sudzucker Moldova in the northern Drochia town and has a production capacity of about 8 million cubic metres per year.

The bio-fuel will be produced from sugar beet mash resulting from the sugar production at the Sudzucker factories and will provide about 13% of the company’s energy needs. The plant will produce thermal and electric energy for its own needs during the production season, while in the rest of the time, the electricity will be supplied through the distribution network.

Valeriu Lazar has praised the company’s courage to invest over 7 million euros in the development of renewable energy sources. He highlighted that the five-year payback period was reasonable, and would allow the company using the saved money to develop staff and other business directions.

The deputy prime minister noted that the state had backed the company’s initiative through the Energy and Biomass Project, financed by the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme, to work out feasibility studies and other necessary documents for the construction of the biogas plant. The economics ministry said that Moldova’s objective was to increase the renewable energy source quota up to 20% of the consumed energy by 2020, according to the country's Energy Strategy, with the objective being in line with European Union policies in this sector. The project implemented by the German company significantly contributes to achieving this goal, Valeriu Lazar added.

Adapted from moldpres