New power plant near Minsk for lower greenhouse gas emissions

A new power plant near the city of Minsk will contribute to lower greenhouse gas emissions, BelTA learned from representatives of the Belarusian-Swiss company TDF Ecotech, which has built the new electricity generation installation.

The power plant was unveiled on 10 July. It is located at the solid domestic waste landfill Severny near Minsk. The planned capacity of the first startup complex will be 2.8MW. The entire capacity of the project will be 5.6MW.

The new power plant will help the environment because it burns gases generated by rotting organic waste at landfills to generate electricity. Methane is the prevailing gas in this mixture. Methane is nearly 30 times more active as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO). Prior to the power plant’s construction the gases accumulated deep in the waste were just released into the atmosphere.

It is not the first time de-gassing equipment has been installed at the landfill Severny. A similar power plant with the capacity of 2MW went operational in 2010. It is located at the former landfill Trostenets. The power plant’s launch allowed thousands of Minsk city and Minsk District residents to use electricity generated by renewable sources of energy, said the source.