THE AGRICULTURAL cooperative Choňkovce in eastern Slovakia wants to construct its own bio-gas power plant worth Sk75 million. The cooperative has a complete design and documents for the construction, however, financing the venture is still in doubt. It wants to obtain one part of the money from Euro-funds, the cooperative chairman Ján Petro told the ČTK newswire.
"We have already invested a million crowns from our own resources and a credit into the preparations, but we cannot manage the whole power plant," Petro said. The cooperative intends to get less than Sk40 million for the project and the rest should be financed from the agricultural company itself.
The power plant should have a capacity of less than 0.5 megawatts and its operation will be secured by the employees of the cooperative. According to Petro, the bio-gas power plant is environmentally friendly, as it uses muck and corn silage for its production. The company is waiting for the Agriculture Ministry, which should publish a call for filing projects for the use of Euro-funds.
The power from bio-gas power plants is obtained from renewable sources. Due to a recent decision of the European Commission, Slovakia should increase the share of such production by 2020 to 14 percent; about twice the current level.
