OREANDA-NEWS. May 18, 2011. The State Agency for Management of an exclusion zone with PhytoFuels Investments (Belgian-Ukrainian Company on the production and use of biomass) in February-March 2012 conducts research on cultivation of energy crops in the Chornobyl zone. The deputy head of Agency Mykola Proskura said this at the press conference.

The prospective area on which culture will be sown, estimated at 40-45% of the exclusion zone, about 1100 km square. For research have been selected culture - a simple millet or gras. The cost of research is about 500 thousand. Source - European Union funds, and funds PhytoFuels Investments.

As Mykola Proskura said, the Agency in March 2011 signed a memorandum of cooperation with PhytoFuels Investments, Wageningen University and Research Center (Netherlands) and the Institute of biomass and sustainable development, the main task is the rehabilitation of contaminated land exclusion zone by growing energy crops to their further processing into biofuels.

According to co-owner PhytoFuels Investments Lerminyo Loik, use half the areas for growing energy crops will provide equivalent amount of 0 Mykola.8 billion cubic meters of gas. He noted that interest of business in the development land of the Chornobyl zone is in one of the most important requirements for biofuels is the lack of competition on the land of food use because it can not be allocated to account of forests, pastures or natural resources.

"This is one of the main criteria of sustainability according to standards of biofuels, because the latter are often blamed for indirectly increasing food prices that result from using corn and grain for bioethanol production, or reduction of area under food crops" - Lerminyo said. He said the untapped energy potential of biomass in the Chornobyl exclusion zone is about 200 MW. Investments in the final draft of the growing and processing of biomass into electricity or thermal energy is estimated at 2-3 million euros to 1 MW capacity, or about 500 million Euros.

As Mykola Proskura noted such investigations were conducted during 10-15 years. "It was researched different kinds of crops to grow in the exclusion zone. Some of them are unsuitable in different reasons, or in plants were observed a high degree of morbidity, or they have low yield"- said the expert. In contrast to previous plant millet does not require care and its growing not involve significant human resources.

This culture is perennial, sown 1 in every 15 years, mow off - about 2 times a year. "Unlike for rape, culture has a higher economic and environmental indicators", - said Mykola Proskura. He said that during the research will be considered three areas in different parts of the exclusion zone, in different conditions of contamination and soil types, it will be studied biomass yields and contamination. These studies will become a part of the feasibility study. In case this project will be implemented, waste incineration (ash) will be low-level, their burial is planned to carry out at the complex "Vector" in the exclusion zone, said Mykola Proskura.