UUP to introduce European system for solid biofuel certification in Ukraine
The Ukrainian Union of Pellets (UUP) is intending to introduce a system for solid fuel certification in Ukraine that would fully comply with the European requirements and be recognized in the European Union, UUP President Mykola Kolomiychenko said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
"The certification according to the European standards EN and EN+ will allow to significantly increase the price of Ukrainian biofuel supplied to Europe," he said.
Kolomiychenko said that today a large share of Ukrainian biofuel is exported to Poland at a price of about EUR 110-120 per tonne, and then certified Polish traders resell it to German consumers at a price of over EUR 180 per tonne.
According to the UUP president, currently the State Inspectorate for Consumers' Rights Protection is working on implementing the EN and EN+ standards. This work could be completed in the first quarter of 2013.
The authority certifying producers, solid biofuel traders and biofuel in Ukraine will be the UUP. The SGS laboratory will check the quality of products. The cost of services for solid biofuel certification for the UUP members will be EUR 0.1 per tonne, and that for other companies - EUR 0.15 per tonne.
President of the Association of Alternative Fuel and Energy Market Participants (APEU) Vitaliy Daviy, in turn, reported that Ukraine in 2012 would produce about 810,000 tonnes of solid biofuel, which corresponds to the figure of 2011.
"At the same time, product supplies to the national market will come to 30% of the total production, which is 6% up from the corresponding period last year. The main contribution to this trend was made by oil extraction plants, which increased sunflower husk consumption as fuel, partially replacing natural gas with this resource," he said.
In general, Daviy described the situation on the Ukrainian solid biofuel market as "stagnant."
"Only 40 of the 120 facilities are in operation. The remaining plants are standing idle and are launched for a short period of time... The main reason for such a situation is a low technical level of production, its low energy efficiency. The second reason is the rise in the price of raw materials by 12-15%, difficulties with their acquisition through auctions. The increase in transportation costs by 8-10% also affected the activity of enterprises," he said.
The APEU president added that corruption permeating all the levels of the power prevents us from transferring the country's boiler facilities to biofuel.
"Now, the cost of gas including transportation and other expenses is about UAH 4,800 per 1,000 cubic meters. In terms of calorie content, this amount corresponds to 2,000 tonnes of pellets worth about UAH 2,000. Saving is obvious. But this kills all the "food" chains used by officials," Daviy summarized.