By 2010 Belarus is planning to build 10 “mini-thermal power stations” that are to use locally-available fuels, Belta was informed at the Ministry of Energy, which would “free-up” 320 million cubic meters of gas for other purposes. The latter is part of the country’s new energy policy aimed at increasing efficiency while decreasing costs, which, among other measures, includes looking into generating a significant portion of the country’s energy by local fuels. It is believed that this strategy will decrease the price of electricity and thermal energy produced in Belarus, informed the news source.

According to the Energy Ministry, so far five facilities have been transferred onto local resources and currently utilize wood or lignin-operated chambers to generate energy.

This information was originally published September 21, 2007 (www.belta.by)