Project Information Document (Concept Stage) - Belarus Biomass District Heating Project - P146194

In step with continued stabilization-oriented macroeconomic policies, structural reforms to reduce the role of the state, transform the state-owned enterprise sector, and promote private and financial sector development and integration into the global economy are crucial for Belarus to realize its growth potential. [...] The Public Expenditure Review conducted by the World Bank for Belarus in 2011 estimated that as a result of the planned increase in residential energy tariffs, the national poverty rate could increase from 5.4 percent in 2009 to about 6.3–7.2 percent in 2014. [...] Improving the energy efficiency of heat generation and scaling up the use of biomass fuel would therefore help address the challenges in the energy sector mentioned here—by reducing energy production costs, diversifying energy supply, and further unlocking the potential of forestry resources in Belarus. [...] The Belarus Energy Efficiency Department and its Project Management Unit are familiar with the Bank’s procedures and regulations and have a positive track record working with the World Bank on two-demand side energy efficiency projects: the Social Infrastructure Retrofitting Project and the Post Chernobyl Recovery Project; and on one supply side power and heat generation: the Energy Efficiency Pro [...] On the side of energy efficiency, the project aims to expand the penetration of the building-level substation technology and demonstrate the possibilities for achieving the benefits of energy conservation on a financially sustainable basis.