The company Narodno Grijanje is very experienced in reconstructing heating systems by using renewable energy technologies. Representatives of the Lijanovići Meat Factory were very impressed by the success of the bio-solar heating system installed at the Hotel Maršal near Sarajevo. An agreement was made with Narodno Grijanje for the installation of a larger system at the factory in order to reduce fossil fuel usage and thus decrease CO₂ emissions and economize the amount of money spent on heating. The system installed in Lijanovići is used for both the hot water supply and the central heating.
As the biomass boilers use waste wood from nearby forests, an additional advantage is the immediate cleaning of forests, which otherwise is not yet regulated by law in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The system is in operation since April 2004; the investment covers a very local area.

TECHNOLOGY

A combination of solar collectors and biomass-boilers is operated and these were all manufactured and installed by the Bosnian company Narodno Grijanje. 100 solar panels are placed on the roof of the factory, while the 2 biomass boilers (500 kW each) and the 2 accumulation boilers of 18 000 litres total are sited inside the factory. The lifetime of the installed system is 20-30 years.
The amount of heat generated at the factory through this system comes to 800 kW/h. The biomass raw material originates from sawmills in nearby Mostar where waste wood is collected and also from forests in the area.

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ENVIROMENTAL EFFECTS

The replacement of oil fuel used by Lijanovići Factory amounts to 200 t/year, only a very minimal amount of oil is still used for heating.
The amount of oil saved results in estimated savings of almost 650 000 kg CO₂ annually as well as in positive effects on the quality of air and water in the vicinity of the factory.

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SOCIAL EFFECTS

The positive influence of the project is evident in terms of an increased environmental awareness among employees, the local population and visitors. Groups are allowed to come and visit the plant to see the installed system. The local population was informed of this project via multiple sources of printed promotional material, the media (television and radio) and various public presentations.
The same employees who worked on the oil system before continue to maintain the solar-biomass system now and they have received the appropriate training.

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ECONOMIC ASPECTS

The project was completely self-funded by the meat-processing factory.
On the basis of the annual savings of EUR 50 000 made by the shift from oil to renewable energy, the calculated payback-time of this investment is about 5 years.

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DIFFICULTIES, PROBLEMS

The problems encountered were mostly of a financial nature as the meat-processing factory did not have complete trust in the idea of renewable power and thus withheld payment for half a year to ascertain the worth of the system.
Some technical difficulties appeared as well from the constructor’s point of view. In particular, the factory had a slightly old heating system which caused some extra problems in addition to the already considerable overhaul of the plumbing system, required to switch from an oil-based system to the bio-solar system now installed.

Another problem – for which a temporary solution has since been found - was that the wood raw material was not easy to obtain, despite forests near the factory. Most lumber companies operate for the winter heating season only and therefore work little during the summer. Besides that the lumber industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not at all regulated or well-organized, thus Narodno Grijanje had to arrange the wood delivery eventually on its own to the factory, of course being paid for such maintenance.

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FOLLOW UP

The management of the Lijanovići Factory is basically satisfied with the system, though it is considering using natural gas as well. In any event, it has already entered into discussions with regard to developing the system further to attain even higher temperatures, as well as automating the system.
Narodno Grijanje company plans to expand the business of installing such bio-solar systems to the whole Balkan area (and is already working on similar projects in most of the nearby countries) and help raise environmental awareness among the populations where it works.

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FURTHER INFORMATION

Narodno Grijanje
Tukovi 64
Osijek
71000 Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Besim Grozdanić - director

Tel: +387 33 763 900
Fax: +387 33 763 900
E-mail: info@narodnogrijanje.com
Web: www.narodnogrijanje.com

http://www.narodnogrijanje.com/en/s_content.php?id=vb2004-02-25-1421 – English http://www.narodnogrijanje.com/toplane.php - Bosnian

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