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German investor likely to be forced to pick different site for wind farm in Minsk region

A government official acknowledged on Wednesday that Germany's Enertrag might have to look for a different site for a wind farm in the Minsk region.

The investor planned to spend 250 million euros on the construction of the wind farm in the Dzyarzhynsk district, which was expected to begin this year, but the plans hit a snag earlier this summer after the defense ministry warned that the wind turbines could interfere with air defense radars.

Speaking at a conference in Minsk, Syarhey Syamashka, a departmental head at the regional government, said that the investor would be offered sites in the Lahoysk and Barysaw districts, both in the Minsk region, if the defense ministry continued objecting. He admitted that the project would be delayed as a result.

There are some 1,840 sites in Belarus where wind turbines would have efficient operation, said Vadzim Kandrusevich, deputy head of the energy ministry's energy efficiency department. Five locations - in the Dzyarzhynsk district in the Minsk region, the Liyozna district in the Vitsyebsk region, and the Navahrudak, Smarhon and Ashmyany districts in the Hrodna region - are suitable for wind farms, the official said. He did not mention the Lahoysk or Barysaw districts.

Wind farms built in Belarus would have a generating capacity of between 15 to 60 megawatts.

Belarus seeks to attract investors for the construction of wind farms because such projects are too costly, Mr. Kandrusevich said. Such facilities cost roughly $3 million per megawatt of their generating capacity, he noted. //BelaPAN