Lviv receives EUR27.5 mln for biogas plant from European investors
Three European organizations including EBRD provide the Ukrainian city of Lviv with EUR27.5 mln financial aid. The costs were given for the building of a biogas plant, which is supposed to improve environmental situation in the region. Moreover, the investment is supposed to save energy.
Biogas production is a widespread practice in Europe. For example, in Poland in the course of the last 10 years biogas plants have been installed almost in every city and town. These stations produce biogas, a renewable source of energy, mainly from sewage sludge and food waste. Biogas can be used both for heating and electricity, becoming one of the popular sources of alternative energy in Europe for today.
Pursuing the aim of energy saving and power generation, the city of Lviv, which is situated in the West of Ukraine, initiated the building of a biogas plant. The initiative was financially supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation and the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership.
These three European establishments allocated EUR27.5 million. The money will be used by Lvivvodokanal, the local municipal enterprise, which mostly deals with regional water issues, provides service of 1,000 kilometer water supply system network and provides services for 760,000 tax payers, including industrial establishments. The enterprise initiated capital reparation of the facilities, which are responsible for water supply and treatment. According to Lvivvodokanal, this project is the second stage of sewage treatment system modernization. The first stage of modernization was organized in 2003-2006, when they installed new inlet grits, equipment for the main sewage pumping station, new air blowers and air flow control, centrifuge for sludge dewatering and sludge pumps. The money for this overhaul was allocated by several grants, the loan from The World Bank and the costs from Lvivvodokanal itself.
According to Lvivvodokanal spokesperson, the required sum of money for the second stage of modernization is EUR31.5 million, which is the total cost of the project. The money will be predominantly used to get rid of environmental problems, which are caused by the outdated equipment system. The main way to tackle the environmental issues is rehabilitation and renovation of the wastewater treatment system as well as the building of the biogas plant. The latter will allow generating of power and electrical energy. The amount of the produced energy, according to estimates, will be about 39,400 MWh of electricity in a year. Moreover, the strategically vital investment, which was made to build a biogas plant in the region, will assist in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the amount of 128,600 metric tons and will help the municipal enterprise to reach significant energy savings.
The representatives of Lvivvodokanal note that along with producing significant amount of energy from biogas, the project will also allow them to solve the extra-ordinarily burning problem of sediment storage. Sludge accumulation areas, which occupy 22 ha and are situated in the territory of sewage treatment facilities, have been used since the sixties of the previous century and are overwhelmed now. The consequences of raw sludge accumulation have their influence on the environmental situation in the city as well as lead to odor formation in the water treatment working areas.
Under EU existing directive associate member states are obliged to get rid of sludge accumulation facilities by introducing a full cycle of sludge disposal and utilization. This issue has become the item on the agenda of Lvivvodokanal as well. They should implement respective changes, but so far they have not decided on the way they will utilize the sludge. This process may include different scenarios. For example the sludge may be burnt or used in the process of fertilizers production. Furthermore, the dried sedimentation may be used for landfill reclamation. The representatives of Lvivvodokanal consider that they move into the right direction by attracting leading European companies, which will help the enterprise to find the most optimal solution.
This project includes not only the building of biogas plant but also foresees installation of sediment chambers and a chemical precipitation plant. These items shall be installed in order to make overall improvement of the wastewater treatment system in the region. In particular, it will reduce the amount of harmful wastes dumped into the Poltva River.
The due diligence examination was provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency in 2008. The event became the starting point of modernization.
