Great solar potential of Montenegro

The solar potential of Montenegro is one of the biggest in South-East Europe. Podgorica has more than 2,000 sunny hours, while the number of sunny hours in the south areas is higher than 2,500 a year.

This was stated during the international solar technologies fair SOLAR EXPO in Verona, Italy. An investment forum on solar warming of water and environment protection in Montenegro was organised within the fair. The forum was attended by Montenegrin companies, but also many companies from Italy, Germany, Austria, China, Australia and Spain, which were interested in the potential for investments in solar technologies in Montenegro.
(CdM)

Source

Zabljak, Montenegro - Sustainable Development Master Plan

Project to Refurbish Historic Hotel in Montenegro Underway

According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a €23.9 million loan has been approved for the Crna Gora Hotel in Montenegro to part-finance its modernisation and to help bring it up to the highest standards of international hospitality.

The project will address the current scarce availability of international standard premium hotels in Podgorica, boosting the competition and raising quality and business standards in the Montenegrin hotel industry.

The redevelopment will also set new and higher standards of energy efficiency and sustainability in the sector, with the use of the best available energy efficiency technology, including low emission windows, heat recovery, fuel switch from light oil to renewable energy and energy efficient lighting.

Hotel Crna Gora was built in 1953 as the first and premier hotel in central Podgorica. With the support of the EBRD loan the hotel will be refurbished and extended, maintaining key features of the original building. Upon completion, the development will have 200 rooms and a retail gallery of 5,500 square meters.

It will be renamed Hilton Podgorica Montenegro under a franchise agreement with Hilton

"We are delighted to support this important project for Podgorica and Montenegro with long term financing. The opening of Hilton hotel will raise the standards in the Montenegrin hospitality industry, will create new jobs and raise further the appeal of the country for tourists and business people", said Marek Lorinc, Head of the EBRD office in Montenegro.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was established in 1991 to help build market economies and democracies in countries from central Europe to central Asia. The EBRD is the largest single investor in the region and mobilizes foreign direct investment beyond its own financing. Owned by 61 countries and two intergovernmental institutions, the EBRD provides project financing for banks, industries and businesses. The Bank uses its close relationship with governments in the region to promote policies that will bolster the business environment, and only works in countries committed to democratic principles and respect for the environment. For more information, visit www.ebrd.com.

Source: EBRD news story by Ina Coretchi on 13 April 2011

The world could be 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2050

04.02.2011 - A renewable energy system around the globe by 2050

The Energy Report that was published today by Ecofys, WWF and AMO is a comprehensive study claiming that the world can be 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2050. It demonstrates the feasibility of such ambitions across the whole planet.

A fully sustainable and renewable global energy system is possible by 2050. The report proposes to address the urgent problems caused by looming climate change. The world’s energy needs could be met entirely by renewable sources.

For several reasons, the world will need an adapted energy system to accommodate its growing population. Climate change, depletion of natural resources and a growing dependence on only a few energy suppliers are a threat to our current system. Renewable sources such as solar energy, wind, hydro and bio-energy are necessary for a sustainable balance.

Ecofys, with over 25 years of experience in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency, investigated technical, social and economical developments in all energy carriers, all regions and all sectors of the global energy system.

Renewable energy proves to be abundant. By utilizing existing technologies alone and applying stringent sustainability criteria 95% of all energy can be renewable by 2050. Only certain manufacturing processes (e.g. steel, cement) will need specific properties of fossil fuels that cannot be substituted by renewable fuels yet.

Guvno or Gumno (threshing floor)

A threshing floor is a specially flattened surface, usually circular and paved, where a farmer would thresh the grain harvest and then winnow it, before the advent of threshing machines from the nineteenth century onwards. The threshing floor was either owned by the entire village or by a single family. It was usually located outside the village in a place exposed to the wind.

Structure
Threshing floors are usually located near a farm or farmhouse, or in places easily accessible from growing areas. They are usually paved with material that may be of various kinds, for example round stone cobbles about the size of a fist; slate; tile; or sometimes the underlying bedrock itself is exposed. Unpaved earthen threshing floors are also sometimes found. The floors usually have a slight slope, to avoid water standing on them after rain; and the paving may be divided by rays traced from a central focus to facilitate the pavement.
To overcome possible unevenness, and isolate them from water running off after rain so helping to preserve them, threshing floors are often surrounded by a stout low wall. The construction was often in a high place, to take advantage of soft and steady winds to facilitate the work of winnowing, separating the grain from the chaff, once the threshing had been completed.

Use
Sheaves of grain would be opened up and the stalks spread across the threshing floor. Pairs of donkeys or oxen (or sometimes cattle) would then be walked round and round, often dragging a heavy threshing board behind them, to tear the ears of grain from the stalks, and loosen the grain itself from the husks. After this threshing process, the broken stalks and grain were collected and then thrown up into the air with a wooden fork-like tool called a winnowing fan. The chaff would be blown away by the wind; the short torn straw would fall some distance away; while the heavier grain would fall at the winnower's feet. The grain could then be further cleansed by sieving.

More on Gumno / Guvno:
http://vukotic.awardspace.com/gimnos.htm
http://books.google.com/books

eco-friendly United Nations premises in Podgorica

PODGORICA — The first United Nations premises incorporating ecological principles will be built in Montenegro’s capital to a design by Daniel Fügenschuh. The City of Podgorica has donated a very attractive site on the banks of the River Moracˇa for this energetically autonomous building. The special equipment for the ecological technology and building services will be financed by the Austrian Development Agency and implemented by the World University Service Austria. The building itself is being financed by the Montenegrin government and will have a usable surface area of approximately 1400 m². Completion is scheduled for 2008.

The water from the river will be used to cool the building in summer and to heat it in the winter with the aid of a heat pump powered by solar electricity.

The water from the river will be used to cool the building in summer and to heat it in the winter with the aid of a heat pump powered by solar electricity.

The project is the result of an invited architecture competition held in 2005. The building, which opens up to the riverbank, is embedded in the landscape and presents itself as the horizontal counterpart to the adjoining Millennium Bridge, Podgorica’s newest landmark. The various UN agencies operating in Montenegro (UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM and UN consultants) will be brought together under a single roof slab that is perforated with large openings for natural ventilation and lighting purposes. Photovoltaic cells floating above the roof slab act as a shading device while also providing enough energy to meet the building’s estimated annual energy demands. The ventilation system works on the displacement principal, using the heat generated in the interior to drive the movement of air.

Although Montenegro defines itself as an ecologically benign state, owing to its untouched natural beauty, there is a need for action in the area of environmental protection. This project has been seen as a welcome opportunity for the country to ‘put its money where its mouth is’: the building should serve as a prime example of ecological construction in Montenegro.

Other noteworthy and positive impulses emanating from this project are the promotion of sustainable building principles by the NGO Expeditio and the Austrian Development Agency’s financial and academic support to the Faculty of Architecture in Podgorica for the establishment of a course on ecological construction.

Source: UNDP