The Gomel Oblast Executive Committee in Belarus has decided to allocate two plots of land with a total area of over 110 hectares for the construction of a photovoltaic power plant by Belorussian energy group Belorusneft. The group will rent the land, which is located in Rechitsa District, close to the company’s operational base, for 50 years and the plant is expected to generate 50MW once its designed capacity has been reached.
Oil extraction is declining in Belarus and so PV will increasingly become an alternative source of business for the company as the country attempts to ensure its national energy security. Initial work at the site is scheduled to start this year.
Oil companies have implemented numerous energy-saving projects in Gomel Oblast to date including several cogeneration plants. Belorusneft was the first company in the country to build a refuelling station powered by solar cells and the company is now busily engaged in building a chain of recharging stations for electric vehicles. Under plans announced earlier this year, the Belarusian natural gas processing plant and the Svetlogorsk department for drilling operations are supposed to commission photovoltaic power plants with the total capacity of 4.3MW.
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