Four countries to partake in Energy Week in Polotsk

VITEBSK, 23 June (BelTA) – Representatives of Belarus, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Germany will take part in the Energy Week that will be held in Polotsk on 23-29 June, BelTA learnt from the Polotsk District Executive Committee.

The highlight of the event will be the exhibition-seminar “Renewable energy in the energy conservation system” and the international conference “Covenant of Mayors as an innovative approach to energy management”. Invitations to take part in the events were sent to heads of district executive committees, representatives of regional departments for monitoring the rational use of energy resources, other organizations of Vitebsk Oblast and Polotsk District. Taking part in the Energy Week will be foreign energy specialists, investors, advisors, manufacturers and exporters of energy-efficient equipment, experts in alternative energy. The participants of the exhibition-seminar will share their practices in energy conservation and present new market products related to energy conservation and renewable energy. The conference that will last for several hours will cover multiple issues, including Belarus’ efforts to raise energy efficiency and promote renewable energy, and the world’s best practices in this field. The project “Promotion of energy-saving technologies and renewable energy on the local level” will be presented during the conference.

A series of other events will be held during the Energy Week in Polotsk. They include the Car-Free Day campaign, the Western Dvina clean-up campaign, a cycling campaign for the clean air, a performance of a comedy club and a contest of flash mobs “The future generation for reasonable consumption” among educational institutions of Polotsk and the district. Five retail outlets of Polotsk will take part in the Family Moneybox campaign – customers buying household appliances with the energy efficiency class A and higher will be rewarded by a gift made by children. The Energy Week will conclude with the Green Light campaign during which Chinese lanterns will be sent flying into the sky to symbolize the community’s commitment to addressing energy-conservation issues.

The Energy Week will help specialists establish new contacts, study the best practices of other countries, attract investors, sign cooperation agreements, raise awareness of the energy conservation and energy efficiency issues and study the achievements of the cities that signed the Covenant of Mayors.

The Energy Week in Polotsk is organized by the economy department of the Polotsk District Executive Committee and the Business Promotion Center of Polotsk.

Polotsk was the first town in Belarus to sign the Covenant of Mayors in September 2011 as part of the international technical aid project “SURE – Sustainable Urban Energy in the ENPI Region – Towards the Covenant of Mayors”. The town undertook to reduce energy consumption by 20%, increase the use of renewable energy sources by 20% and cut down on carbon gas emissions by 20% by 2020 (“20-20-20”). All in all, €9.9 million will be spent on the project during ten years. The expected economic effect of the project is €56.9 million.