YEREVAN.- It is a second year that Researchers for Bio Heating Solutions NGO represents Armenia during World Sustainable Energy Days (WSED) in Austria, taking place from 27 February till 1 of March.

The WSED is one of the largest annual conferences in Europe, offering various events on sustainable energy. More than 10,000 participants, experts, decisions makers from over 100 countries join the conference to talk about green energy and energy efficiency.

This year, Ms. Lena Mamikonyan, a Master Program Student of the Agribusiness Teaching Center and a representative of the NGO Researchers for Bio Heating Solutions in Armenia, presented her research at the annual event in Wels, Austria.

The research brought up the challenges and opportunities for establishing biomass pellets production in Armenia, from potentials of energy crop cultivation to the utilization of biomass pellets on the Armenian domestic market. Biomass pellets are derived from specifically cultivated grasses and can be ground and compressed into pellets, that can later be combusted in a specially designed pellets stove for highly efficient heating, and could potentially work well in greenhouses.

On the question from the conference host Mr. Walter Haslinger: “For what scale are you planning the biomass pellets activity for Armenia?” Ms. Lena Mamikonyan replied: “For several villages, and then we will expand”.

The participation of Ms. Lena Mamikonyan to the conference was made possible by the International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education, Researchers for Bio Heating Solutions, and the Regional Government of Upper Austria and its Energy Agency (Oberösterreich Energiesparverband).

The Founder and Executive Director of the Armenian-based NGO Researchers for Bio Heating Solutions, Mr. Mikael Åhlin, originally from Stockholm, Sweden, and now residing in Armenia, explains that biomass pellets is an alternative to highly efficient heating and can be a way to integrate several components into a chain that can create job, energy and food security enhancements - in particular for agriculture practitioners who are planning to run their heating systems on renewable energy.