The heating utility in Bulgaria's Black sea city of Burgas plans to boost its efficiency by mounting a new biomass boiler, thereby reducing the consumption of natural gas and the heating bills of its customers.

The project envisages the installation of a new wood chip boiler, according to a media statement of the Burgas-based heating utility.

The facility is to be supplied by Chinese company Shanghai Wellink Industry and the total investment amounts to around BGN 3 M.

The new biomass boiler is expected to boost the economic efficiency of the heating utility, to achieve a diversification of energy resources and to bring environmental benefits.

"The high price of natural gas and the monopoly position of the supplier makes us keep searching for an alternative all the time. This need becomes particularly pronounced in the winter season, when the expenses of the company, as well as household expenses, go up," said Valyo Duchev, head of Burgas Heating utility.

The new biomass boiler is to operate for 5-6 months a year.

During the winter season, the heating utility in Burgas will run on both natural gas and the substantially cheaper wood chips, which is to reduce gas consumption by 31% at the expense of biomass.

The share of heating generated by the biomass boiler is to reach 23.4% of the total, while the share of the natural gas-fired unit is to drop from 35.6% to 12.2%.

The installation of the biomass boiler is to reduce heating bills of households in Burgas, as well as the utility's carbon footprint.

The project also envisages building a system for dry separation of ash produced by the burning of wood chips.

The new installation will emit a minimum amount of dust, while the ash will be stored in a special bunker and will be marketed as a soil improver or a replacement of potassium fertilizer.

However, as this market in Bulgaria is underdeveloped, it is possible that certain quantities of ash will remain unsold, which is why the company has asked the Burgas municipality and the local public cleaning service to allow that the ash be stored at the Bratovo landfill site under conditions of their choice.

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