First biogas plant built in northern Moldova

Prime Minister Vlad Filat on September 21 participated in the launch of the construction of a biogas plant in the northern town Drochia, the government's communication and media relations department has reported.

Agriculture and Food Minister Vasile Bumacov, the chairman of the Supervisory Board of the company Südzucker Moldova, Dr. Thomas Kirchberg, German Ambassador to Moldova Matthias Meyer, and other representatives of the local public authorities participated in the event.

In order to build this plant, in 2010-11, Südzucker Moldova drafted and prepared the whole package of documents related to the project of production of biogas from sugar beet.

In his speech, Vlad Filat underlined that this plant is important for both the company Südzucker Moldova and for Moldova's economy as a whole. Filat also highlighted that this project is an example of investments based on advanced technologies.

Vlad Filat said that such projects should be implemented in other districts as well as they will lead to the diversification of energy sources.

«It is significant that this biogas plant is the first of the kind in Moldova and the second in Europe. The first such plant was built three years ago in Capsovar city, Hungary. The investment that is going to be made amounts to 7.5 million euros,» Filat said.

The Drochia-based biogas plant will open in 2013, and the investments made shall be recouped within five years. In the first two years only pressed sugar beet waste will be used to produce biogas, afterwards all organic waste resulting from sugar processing will be used. The obtained biogas, together with the natural gas purchased by Südzucker Moldova, will be burnt in the factory's oven. The obtained energy will be used during the sugar production process. Additionally, the biogas installation will generate thermal energy.

The annual processing capacity of the plant is about 55,000 tons of sugar beet and about de 7.3 million cubic meters of biogas produced with a content of 51 per cent of methanol.

The company Südzucker Moldova produced 63,200 tons of sugar over the past year, which accounts for 71.4 per cent of the total quantity of sugar produced in Moldova. During its activity in Moldova, the company Südzucker Moldova invested over 480 million lei in sugar beet production.

Adapted from Moldpres