The Kindergarten in village Horesti, Ialoveni district, gave up the old natural gas heating system and switched to ecological energy. Since autumn 2018, the thermal insurance of the institution will be based on biomass and solar energy, due to a project funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The former heating system in Horesti kindergarten was obsolete and its capacity did not allow a constant optimum temperature to be ensured in all the kindergarten rooms. Also on the basis of electricity, the hot water demand was ensured and five boilers were installed in the institution. According to the kindergarten administration, the electricity bills reached astronomical sums, but hot water was not enough for everyone.
In order to solve the problem, the local city hall submitted the file for participation in a European grant competition, and with the money raised, €60.2 thousand, installed the latest technology based on the energy of the sun and biomass. In the cold season, it will be provided heat from the facility by solid biomass fuel (wood pellets and vegetal remains) and it will be heated the water by the sun.
The European investments have been used to build a high-performance thermal power plant, purchase and install two 250 kW boilers and a set of six solar collectors. The community contribution, estimated at about €15,000, was directed to develop the plant project, build biofuel deposit and repair inside the kindergarten.
“We have already been able to feel the comfort of having hot water anytime, without asking us that we have to pay too much. In a kindergarten, warm water is not a luxury but a necessity. The children need to wash their hands as often as possible, we need hot water in the kitchen, to wash the dishes,” said head of Horesti kindergarten, Elena Condurache.
The preschool institution in Horesti is one of 236 kindergartens, schools and healthcare centres in Moldova that have been connected to biomass heating systems by EU financial support under the Energy and Biomass Project. This second stage programme is carried out in 2015 – 2018 with a total budget of €9.4 million. The national partner of the Energy and Biomass Project is the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure (MEI).
