On 10 April in the European Parliament in Brussels Ilze Strēle, the project manager of the state owned enterprise "Vides projekti" Ltd, received a national environment ENERGY GLOBE AWARD for implementation of the project "Baltic Biomass Network".

ENERGY GLOBE AWARD symbolizes the strive of the European Union to raise the long term efficiency of the energy usage and to hold back the climate change. The aim of this international award is to turn wider public attention to the best implemented world environmental projects, where economically efficiently and reasonably various resources and alternative energy sources are exploited. ENERGY GLOBE AWARD is the continuance of the prestigious environmental World Award for Sustainability of Wolfgang Neumann, started seven years ago.
 
ENERGY GLOBE bestows regional, national, continental and international awards under five categories (Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Youth). The winners of the awards were chosen by the jury after evaluation of 700 application projects from the whole world.
Under the category Earth projects for sustainable and rational land resource management are included (green energy, sustainable cattle farming etc.), under the category Fire fall projects for efficient usage of energy resources, under the category Water – projects for providing drinking water resources, also lake, river and ocean conservation projects, under the category Air – projects ensuring climate protection and reduction of gaseous emissions, resulting in hothouse effect and under the category Youth – informational and educational projects.

Among 94 ENERGY GLOBE award winners of this year there is also the project implemented by the state owned enterprise "Vides projekti" Ltd – "Baltic Biomass Network".

"Baltic Biomass Network" is a project under the EU funded programme INTERREG III B, which works on regional spatial planning level with local municipalities, biomass producers and bioenergy investors, in order to develop optimum biomass production schemes, based on geographic information systems, to mobilize biomass resources and to plan sustainable bioenergy investment projects.

Within the project framework regional bioenergy development project scenarios are worked out, in view of the options of the local and international markets, new technologies and biomass production lines, diverse interests of the users of environment, land and resources, as well as the EU bioenergy directives.
The project "Baltic Biomass Network" is implemented in 6 Baltic Sea Regions in Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany.

Additional information:
Margarita Apine, Manager of Public Awareness Department, Phone 7225377, e-mail: Margarita.Apine@videsprojekti.lv.