REGION Demographics Podlaskie Province is located in the north-east part of Poland. It is geographic center of Europe, bordering on Lithuania and Belarus as well as Lubelskie, Mazowieckie and Warmińsko-Mazurskie Provinces. Its area comprises 20 180 km and its populations reaches 1 221 000 people. The capital city of the province is Białystok. Natural environment Due to its many benefits the province is considered the lungs of Poland. There are four unique national parks here which all maintain their primeval character: Białowieski National Park the oldest national park in Poland, Biebrzański National Park with the largest area and Wigierski and Narwiański National Parks. Białowieska and Knyszyńska Primeval Forests are the home of a lot of unique species of animals such as: European bison, moose, lynx or wolf. On the area of Podlaskie Province there are also Augustowska and Zielona Primeval Forests with rare specimens of flora and fauna. Furthermore, Podlaskie Province has three landscape parks and many reserves as well as nature monuments. Climate The region records the lowest temperatures in Poland. Apart from the mountains, winters here are the coldest in the country. In comparison with other parts of Poland the climate here is more severe. The average annual temperature is 6.5-7°C, and the city of Suwałki is called the "Polish north pole". It is one of the coldest regions in Poland. Heating At present most households in the area of Podlaskie Province are still heated with solid fuels such as hard coal. There are virtually no gas installations, and oil installations create high costs of maintenance. That is why there is a demand for alternative competitive heating methods. One of them can be heating with pellets which is in comparison to the fuels mentioned earlier cheaper and there is no degradation of the natural environment. As shown in the table below 3377 apartments, including 1705 in individual building sector were built in 2004 in Podlaskie Province. Most inhabitants are looking for modern and economical heating methods. In our opinion the best method which they will be fully satisfied is pellets - modern ecological fuel. Year Division unit Apartments available for use Total Including individual building 2003 Province 4206 2524 2004 Province 3377 1705 Cities Białystok 1570 292 Suwałki 118 55 Łomża 168 53 Districts augustowski 101 101 białostocki 632 455 bielski 45 45 hajnowski 78 78 moniecki 47 47 sejneński 59 59 siemiatycki 78 78 sokólski 69 69 suwalski 89 89 grajewski 63 60 kolneński 58 58 łomżyński 115 115 wysokomazowiecki 62 26 zambrowski 25 25 * Source GUS