SECTION 3
Antonia Wenisch and Christian Pladerer
Austrian Institute for Applied Ecology
on behalf of Campagna per la Riforma della Banca mondiale
Wien, May 2003
The reason of the present study originates from the discussion about the
completion of the second unit of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant (NPP)
in Romania. Since this country plans to access the European Union it has
started to adapt its legislation to EU law and sectoral guidelines. This
process led to a environmental licensing process for NPP C2 similar to
the environmental impact assessment required under EU law. The process
was based on an Environmental Impact Assessment study carried out by the
National Institute of Research and Development for Environmental
Protection (ICIM) in Bucharest. The nuclear state-owned company SNN,
owner of the plant through CNE-Invest, presented an Environmental Impact
Summary in English on its website last year. This document does not
include a proper discussion about the rationale and the need of the
nuclear project. In particular it does not adequately explore other
non-nuclear options (including the zero-option) and their environmental
impacts associated compared to the impact of the NPP.
Especially under the perspective of sustainable development - which is a
declared aim of the European Union's policy - better options than
nuclear power are available for meeting the Romanian energy needs. These
options are without the risk of disastrous accidents for the population,
and do not generate long-term radioactive waste. On the contrary
alternative energy options provide new opportunities for the Romanian
population: decrease of energy expenditure, creation of new jobs and
protection of the environment.
In the last years an EU funded project proved once more that in the case
of remote settlements off-grid energy production is cheaper than
connecting these houses to the national grid.
The present paper provides an overview of the options for the use of
renewable energy in Romania and their potential compared to the output
of the NPP C2. In order to replace the electricity generated by the NPP
Cernavoda, there is no single action which guarantees the success.
However an appropriate mix of measures may lead to high efficiency in
energy consumption and to a sufficient production of heat and
electricity for Romania.
The most hopeful non-nuclear and renewable energy options for Romania
are as follows:
Efficiency Improvement
In November 2000 the national "Law concerning the efficient use of
energy" has been approved by the Romanian Parliament.
This law is a step in the right direction, but the realization of the
huge energy efficiency potential requires the abolishment of subsidies
for fuel, an active policy of dissemination of know-how, the promotion
of the advantages of energy savings and an effective financing
mechanism.
Wind power
The Romanian State Energy Program planned to install wind power
stations with a total capacity of 550 MW until 2010. In further future
the installed total capacity should reach 3000 MW - this wind power
capacity can replace at least as much electricity as two CANDU 6 units
produce.
Since wind energy is traditionally established in Romania and some
research units have built new and efficient plants the wind energy
option is interesting not only regarding the production of cheap and
clean energy but it can also contribute to the development of a new
industrial sub-sector in Romania.
Solar power
With a solar radiation of 1300 -1500 kWh/m² Romania has a valuable
potential for solar energy application. Moreover the country has made
efforts to develop solar energy equipment since 1979. Hot water systems
as well as drying systems and industrial application have been
installed. Because of the poor quality of the equipment only a small
part of these collectors are still in use. Nonetheless Romania has
know-how installation and the use of solar energy collectors for various
purposes.
To give a concrete idea, to replace the total amount of thermal energy
for district heating in Romania (62.000 TJ) by means of solar heating a
43 km² large collector area is required. To substitute the 5400 GWh
annual electricity produced by a CANDU 6 reactor approximately 30 km²
photovoltaic panels are necessary.
Biogas
In order to replace the electricity produced by one CANDU 6 unit several
small combined cycle biogas plants are necessary. In order to supply the
demanded amount of energy plants for gasification, a 3500 km² large
farmland is needed, which is less than 2% of the total area of Romania
or about 30% of today's arable area. During the accession process of the
Romanian economy in the EU market, agricultural production will become
more and more intensive and part of the farmland will become available
for new processes. Energy plant generation is a new opportunity for
these regions and its inhabitants.
Small hydro power
The total hydroelectric power potential in Romania is about 40 TWh per
year of which 12 TWh per year has already been developed. There may be
as many as 5,000 locations in Romania that are favorable for small
hydroelectric power plants (<30 MW).
Planned projects achieve an increase of capacity of 200 MW by
refurbishment of one big hydro power plant; This shows that the
technical improvement of the existing 640 hydro power plants in Romania
could increase the generation capacity substantially.
Even if it is not sustainable to develop the total potential of hydro
power, an ecologically sound development of a part of the 5000 favorable
sites could be seriously considered.
Romania's climate is temperate-continental with oceanic influences from
the west, Mediterranean ones from southwest and continental-excessive
ones from the northeast. Annual average temperature is 8°C in the north
and 11°C in the south and varies with values of -2,5°C in the mountain
areas (Omu peak- Bucegi massif) and 11,6°C in the plain (Zimnicea town -
Teleorman county). Annual precipitations decrease in intensity from west
to east, from 600 mm to 500 mm in the Romanian plain and under 400 mm in
Dobrogea and they reach 1000-1400 mm in the mountain areas.
Romanian running waters are radially displayed, most of them having the
springs in the Carpathians. Their main collector is the Danube River,
which crosses the country in the south for a length of 1,075 km and
flows into the Black Sea. In the mountain areas there are numerous
glacial lakes and recently, anthropic lakes which help develop the
hydro-energetic potential of rivers.
The vegetation is determined by the relief and by pedo-climatic
elements, being displayed in floors. Mountain areas are covered by
coniferous forests (especially spruce fir), mixture forests (beech,
fir-tree, spruce fir) and beech forests. Higher peaks are covered by
alpine lawns and bushes of dwarf pine, juniper, bilberry a.s.o. In the
hills and plateaus there are broad-leaved forests, prevailing beech,
common oak or durmast oak; the main forests species often met on low
hills and high plains are Quercus cerris and Quercus frainetto. The
steppe and silvosteppe vegetation, which covered the areas of low
humidity in Dobrogea Plateau, Romanian Plain, Moldova Plateau and
Western Plain has been mostly replaced by agricultural crops.
Table 1: Population, cost of living and energy
Year 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
population 22.619.000 22.545.900 22.507.300 22.472.000 22.443.000
cost of living [in ?] 27 27 34 29 33
cost for housing, water, electricity and other fuels [in % of total]
13,4 12,9 14,9 17,6 19,2
A large part of the Romanian population (approx. 45%) is living in rural
areas. About 70,000 rural households are still not electrified. 40% of
these are in the Western Mountains of Transylvania.
Table 2: Annual energy production and consumption in Romania
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Primary production - all products [in 1000 toe ] 33.856 30.367 27.890
26.811 29.630
Total primary energy supply - all products [in 1000 toe] 49.114 44.135 -
- -
Final energy consumption (all products) by sector in 1000 toe
Industry 13.680 12.089 9.679 8.044 10.208
Transport 4.077 4.205 3.920 3.147 3.541
Others 12.851 11.367 11.071 9.945 10.281
Installed electrical capacity [MW] 22.856 22.843 - - 21.904
Electricity generation GWh 61.350 57.148 53.496 50.710 51.934
Output of Nuclear power plant [GWh] 1.396 5.400 5.307 5.198 5.456
Derived heat output from district heating plants (public and
autoproducer plants producing heat only) [TJ] 81.588 76.788 89.572
70.760 62.454
Figure 1: share of different resources in electricity production of
Romania (Source; Report: the present situation in the energy sector,
Terra Millennium, Romania, 2001)
The energy sector in Romania is still plagued by the specific problems
faced by most countries in transition:
? low efficiency of energy production, transmission and consumption;
? high marginal cost of energy production;
? poor legislative, institutional and regulatory infrastructure, plus
administrative inefficiency leading to high transaction costs;
? increases in energy prices that consistently exceed the general rate
of inflation;
? low collection rates especially from industrial users but also from
individual consumers because of the high share of energy bills in total
household expenditure;
? poor record on energy conservation and compliance with national
environmental requirements.
These problems have been exacerbated by the poor performance of the
economy - particularly over the past few years - high inflation rates
and the low level of foreign investment. Since the political changes of
1989, the Romanian energy sector has benefited relatively from grants,
loans and technical assistance programs from the international
community. In addition to multilateral projects, several individual
countries, notably Denmark, the Netherlands, France and the United
States are active in the energy sector in Romania with bilateral
projects. A significant proportion of those resources has been directed
towards improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.
For years, Romanian natural resources have been systematically exploited
for the sake of promoting an industrial development with no regard to
limits and costs in terms of environmental damage. The former regime
developed a highly industrialized economy, based on energy intensive
industries, leading to high levels of energy consumption per unit of
GDP. Even now, while this situation is readily acknowledged, the
solutions generally focus on increasing production output rather than
promoting energy conservation principles. As a consequence Romania has
reached considerably high levels of energy intensity - at least twice as
much as in the OECD countries - which contributes significantly to
environmental pollution in Romania.
Together with Poland and the Slovak Republic Romania is a transition
country where the energy intensity of the industry sector remaines
constant, but that of other sectors of the economy has improved. These
countries are characterised by a large share of heavy industry in GDP
and the reluctance of their governments to tackle the politically
sensitive restructuring of these sectors.
The potential for energy savings due to enhancing the efficiency is
huge, as it is shown by the comparison of energy intensity in figure 2:
The energy intensity in Romania is eight times higher than the one in
Germany.
Figure 2: Energy Intensity 1998 - A comparison (EIA)
Romanian policy has acknowledged the importance of enhancing the
efficiency in energy production in order to protect the environment as
well as the health and welfare of the population. In November 2000 the
national law concerning the efficient use of energy been approved by the
Romanian Parliament.
"The national policy for the efficient use of energy is an integrant of
the energy policy of the state and is based on the following principles:
a) To ensure the normal market operation in the field of energy,
including the price formation according to competition criteria and to
environment protection costs and benefits;
b) To reduce the hurdles to promote energy efficiency and stimulate
investments in this way;
c) To promote financing solutions for the initiatives related to energy
efficiency;
d) To educate and create the awareness of the users about different
forms of energy to reduce the energy consumption per product unit;
e) To ensure the co-operation between the consumers, producers, energy
suppliers and public authorities in view of reaching the objectives set
in the national policy of efficient use of energy;
f) To support fundamental and applicable research in the field of
efficient use of energy;
g) To promote the private initiative and the development of energy
services;
h) To co-operate with other countries in the field of energy efficiency
and to observe the international conventions to which Romania is a
party.
The national policy for the efficient use of energy defines both the
objectives of the efficient use of energy and the ways by which those
objectives are reached, especially referring to:
(a) Reducing energy consumption by unit of gross domestic product in
Romania;
(b) Increasing energy efficiency in all the sectors of the national
economy;
(c) Refurbishing with new technologies having a high energy efficiency;
(d) Promoting new energy sources;
(e) Reducing the negative impact on the environment of energy
production, transmission, distribution and consumption in all its
forms." [Romanian Energy Policy association - ROMANIAN ENERGY
LEGISLATION: Law concerning the efficient use of energy, Article 3 ]
The "law concerning the efficient use of energy" is a step in the right
direction, but the realization of the huge potential requires, the
abolishment of subsidies for fuel, an active policy of dissemination of
know-how, the promotion of the advantages of energy savings and an
effective financing mechanism.
Renewable energy refers to power generated by a renewable source. When
the energy is generated, the resource is not depleted or used up. They
are naturally replenished, and can either be managed so that they last
forever, or their supply is so enormous that humans can never
meaningfully deplete them. Unlike fossil fuels, most renewable energy
sources do not release carbon dioxide and other air pollutants as
by-products into the atmosphere. As the amount of fossil fuel reserves
on earth decreases, it is becoming increasingly important to find and
utilise alternative fuels.
Renewable resources include:
? wind power;
? solar power;
? biofuels;
? hydro-electric power (HEP);
? geothermal energy;
? tidal power; and
? wave energy.
Part of the reason for their limited use is their significant cost
relative in comparison with that of fossil fuel or nuclear power
generation.
Today subsidies and tax policies are in favor of fossil fuel and nuclear
power. The investment for the construction of big centralized power
stations is also supported by the policy of the international financial
institutions and export credit agencies, from which it is easier to get
credits for one nuclear power plant than to get credits for a variety of
small decentralized plants which use renewables as hydro, wind, biomass
and solar. However the "fuel" for renewables is clean and practically
free: wind, hydro, solar radiation.
A sustainable energy system has to minimise the environmental impact of
energy production and use. This requires cleaner energy sources and the
reduction of the adverse effects of fossil fuels. The cost and the
environmental impact of energy conversion processes will also be
tackled, making all systems more efficient and cleaner.
However, as renewable energy technology improves its performance, the
cost of these more sustainable forms for energy production become much
more competitive.
Small Hydropower: Romania has a great potential for small hydropower
plants. There are about 5.000 favorable locations. Ten years ago there
was even an industry producing small turbine/generator sets in Resitaand
Caransebes. However, due to the relatively high initial investment
needed for such plants, they account for very little in covering the
overall primary energy consumption.
Biomass: Null for practical purposes although Romania has a very rich
soil.
Wind Energy: Null. Currently there are some experiments under way.
Photovoltaic Solar Energy: Null.
Thermal Solar Energy: Some timid experiments, such as getting hot water
for industrial and humanitarian purposes, have been carried out.
Geothermal Energy: Significant potential in some areas, but very little
developed.
According to an EU funded project, it is feasible and cheaper to use
renewables in remote settlements in the mountain and rural areas than to
connect them to the national grid.
In principle the government in Romania favours renewable energy
equipment (REQ) development, but due to funding shortages the impact of
these sources of energy is extremely small.
The utilization of wind energy has a long history in Romania. In the
areas of Moldova, Dobrogea and in the Danube delta windmills from the
end of the 19th century are still in operation. Furthermore old water
pumps for the irrigation of fields and for cattle watering places,
driven by the wind, are still in operation. Some wind power stations
were built in high mountain places as well (up to 2,160 meter above the
sea level).
The governmental Institute for Technical and Scientific Work developed a
wind powered station with vertical axle (type Darrieus) and a capacity
of 20 kW. Wind power stations of this type operate in different parts of
Romania, some of them drive water pumps. Gradually the capacity of the
wind power stations designed in Romania has increased. Romanian
universities also participated in the development of wind power
stations. The technical University of Timisoara has already installed a
wind power station with three wings, horizontal axle and a capacity of
300 kW in the Banat in 1981. In 1992 a 300 kW wind power station was
built in Sulina, which produces electricity for the national grid.
Romania has a "state program for energy accumulation, recuperation and
utilization of renewable and conventional energy sources". Within the
framework of this program wind power stations with an installed total
capacity of 550 MW are to be built by 2010. In a further future the
installed total capacity should reach 3000 MW, a capacity which could
replace as much electricity as two CANDU 6 units produce.
The average wind speed on the Romanian coast of the Black Sea amounts to
5 to 7 m/s, on the top of the Carpathians to 6-10 m/s, on the plateau
Dobrogea and in the southern part of Moldavia to about 5.5 m/s.
The average wind speed in Romania in rural areas is about 4,6 m/s . A
wind power plant with a capacity of 600 kW at this speed produces
annualy 0,5 GWh. If the average wind speed is about 9 m/s the energy
production will be 2,4 GWh. The relation of wind speed to energy output
is not linear. The energy output increases faster than the wind speed
and the duplication of wind speed leads to about fourfold energy
production.
The recently inaugurated Alpine Wind Park in the Austrian Mountains is
an impresssive proof of the advantages of using wind energy in mountain
areas: with a monthly electricity production of more than 4 GWh per
month in winter the eleven 1.75 MW Vestas V66-plants have already
produced as much as the annual energy consumption of 3,300 households
since their start-up in December 2002. This energy substituted the
burning of 1 million litre oil or of 2.5 million kilogram of brown coal.
1 kWh produced by fossil fuels causes in the average an output of 970 g
of carbon dioxide. That means that the Tauernwindpark has already saved
the emission of 9700 tons of CO² during a working period of two months.
Solar radiation consists of the radiation that comes directly from the
sun as well as the radiation that comes indirectly.
Solar radiation changes with the time of day and year. The solar
radiation is also reduced by numerous other factors; even with a clear
blue sky, only 90 % of the total solar radiation gets through.
Solar Energy: The potential of the energy delivered by the sun is
practically infinite-at least for the next 4 billion years as experts
predict. The amount of energy which strikes the surface of the earth in
one day exceeds the daily consumption by 10.000 to 15.000 times.
Besides Passive Solar Design, i.e. using different methods of
construction taking advantage of the sun (Solar Architecture), Solar
Radiation can also be actively used: Photovoltaics produces 'clean'
electric current ready for use, while a Solar Heating System transforms
the radiation into heat.
Passive Solar Design: Buildings themselves, or parts of them, are used
as collectors. A typical example is a paned sun room. The glass
construction prevents heat loss from the building, hence contributing to
a reduction of energy consumption. The air which is heated by the sun
can be vented from the sun room and can then be used for space heating.
Through solar building methods a huge amount of heating energy can be
saved. Passive solar design (windows facing south, heat insulation,
etc.) alone has the potential to save up to 90 % in the cost of heating,
while the remaining heat can be produced using solar collectors. Every
roof facing south is also a potential solar energy provider. Solar heat
collectors and photovoltaic systems can be built into existing roof
structures as well as be included in the plans of future building
projects. Coordination between architects and solar technology experts
is an excellent basis for the highest efficiency and living comfort.
Low- or zero-energy buildings face south and combine heat insulation,
demand-oriented ventilation, and 'intelligent' solar energy systems.
When the energy needed for heating and the CO2 emissions both decline,
then the standard of living will improve.
Solar Power System: Systems used to transform solar radiation into
useful energy in the form of heat (solar heating) or electricity
(photovoltaics).
The estimated solar irradiation in a typical rural region in Romania
varies between 5 - 6 kWh/m² per day during the summer, and 0.6 - 1.2
kWh/m² per day during the winter . The whole country has a valuable
potential for solar system applications, as the average solar radiation
in Romania rages from 1,300 to 1,500 kWh/m² per year .
The total area of Romania is about 238,391 km². The average solar
radiation in Romania rages is about 1,400 kWh/m² per year. Thus the
theoretical potential for solar energy for Romania is approximately 330
million GWh per year. Favourable places for the installation of solar
collectors for thermal as well as for electrical energy generation are
buildings (roofs and fassades) or not used space near settlements (e.g.
noise barriers). The technically usable building area is approx. 30% of
the available building area. Thus since the available building area in
Romania is about 630 km², of these a 210 km² large collector area could
be installed.
The most important components of a solar heating system are the
collector, the water storage tank (heat storage device) and the
regulator. Solar heating is the most efficient use of solar energy.
Heating collectors convert approx. 25-40 % of the solar radiation into
heat. (New efficient heating systems have a conversion factor of up to
85%)
Every squaremeter collector area in Romania produces about 400 kWh or
1,440 MJ thermal energy per year. To replace the total amount of thermal
energy for district heating in Romania (62,000 TJ) by means of solar
heating 43km² collector area is required. These are 20% of the total
usable area of 210 km².
Today 100.000 m² (0.1 km²) of collector area in Romania is installed,
that are 0,045% of the usable area. The thermal output of these
collectors is 144 TJ .
Under the new energy legislation about 2,600,000 square metres of
collectors will be installed until 2005 avoiding 1,000,000 tonnes of CO2
emissions per year . They will produce 1,000 GWh thermal energy per
year.
The ecological advantages of solar heating systems consist in up to a
50% reduction in the demand for conventional heating, and consequently
less CO2 emissions.
The most important components of a photovoltaic system are the solar
cells, which when connected together form a solar module (or solar
panel) and the storage battery. If the electricity produced is fed into
the grid (grid coupling), then it is done through the use of an inverter
in order to convert the direct current (DC) from the photovoltaic system
into the correct voltage and phase of the grid's alternate current (AC).
A photovoltaic cell converts 11- 17% of the solar radiation into
electricity. Thus a square meter PV collector in Romania produces
between 150 and 240 kWh electrical energy per year. To substitute the
5,400 GWh annual electricity produced by a CANDU 6 reactor photovoltaic
panels covering about 30 km² are necessary which is approximately
15% of the usable building area.
Biomass is plant material, either raw or processed. For example:
? Fast-growing trees and grasses, like hybrid poplars or switchgrass;
? Agricultural residues, like corn stover, rice straw, wheat straw, or
used vegetable oils;
? Wood waste, such as sawdust and tree prunings, paper trash and yard
clippings.
Biomass is stored solar energy that can be converted to electricity or
heat.
When biomass is used for the generation of energy, almost no additional
carbon dioxide is set free; the carbon dioxide that does get free
through the energetic utilization of biomass is equal to the amount that
the plant absorbed from the atmosphere.
Biomass can easily be stored in large amounts. That is what
distinguishes it from other renewable energy carriers like solar energy,
wind- and water-power.
More than any other energy resource, biomass is capable of
simultaneously addressing the nation's energy, environmental and
economic needs.
? Biomass fuels are sustainable. The green plants from which biomass
fuels are derived fix carbon dioxide as they grow, so their use does not
add to the levels of atmospheric carbon. In addition, using refuse as a
fuel avoids polluting landfill disposal.
? Conversion of solid biomass into gas combustible has all the
advantages associated with using gaseous and liquid fuels such as clean
combustion, compact burning equipment, high thermal efficiency and a
good degree of control. In locations where biomass is already available
at reasonable low prices (e.g. rice mills) or in industries using fuel
wood, gasifying systems offer definite economic advantages. Biogas
production reduces ammonia emissions from liquid manure.
? Biomass gasification technology is also environment-friendly, because
of the firewood savings and reduction in CO2 emissions. Biomass
gasification technology has the potential to replace diesel and other
petroleum products in several applications, and thus it reduces fuel
imports.
? Biomass can pay a dual role in greenhouse gas mitigation, both as an
energy source to substitute fossil fuels (bioenergy) and as a carbon
sink.
? Biomass production can often occur by the restauration of waste land
(e.g. deforested areas) and can prevent erosion and thus it can be
cheaper in comparison to other energy sources.
? Biomass use provides jobs in rural communities and improves the
agricultural income.
Bioenergy technologies help protect the environment by making use of
renewable plant material such as sawdust, tree trimmings, rice straw,
alfalfa and switchgrass; poultry litter and other animal wastes.
Biological materials are used today in a wide variety of processes,
including the production of clean transportation fuels, electricity and
chemicals.
Biogas is a renewable energy carrier. Anaerobic digestion is a
biological process that produces a gas principally composed of methane
(CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) otherwise known as biogas. Its main
component, methane, makes up 40 to 80 % of the total volume and is
usable for the generation of energy. These gases are produced from
organic wastes such as livestock manure, food processing waste, etc.
Agricultural biogas plants use the excrements of their animal stock.
Organic material with a high water content is the most suitable. Biogas
is produced in a septic tank in a microbial process and is energetically
usable after temporary storage. The usage of biogas is especially
effective in decentralized block-type engine heating stations. Biogas
can also be produced in the agricultural industry and communal disposal
industry. However, in these areas, waste management is to be organised
before the production of energy.
Anaerobic processes could either occur naturally or in a controlled
environment such as a biogas plant. Organic waste such as livestock
manure and various types of bacteria are put in an airtight container
called digester so the process could occur.
Basic conditions to guarantee economic success of a biogas plant are:
- minimum livestock: 60-100 LSU (Livestockunit)
- high utilization options on location
- economic utilization of the motor rejected heat all over the year
- long standing availability of material
- sufficient subsidies for investment
The investment costs for a 100 LSU-plant in Austria are about 150,000
Euro.
Such a plant with the average daily gas production of 150 m³ can produce
800 kWh fuel energy and 200 kWh electric power.
Animal excrements from agriculture are the most important input for
agricultural biogas plants. The following table is an overview about the
biogas potential in Romania.
Table 3: Livestock breeding intensity in Romania, 2000
Number of Livestock animals in Romania specific conversion factor
Livestock units
cattle 2,870,000 0.7 2,009,000
cows 1,649,000 1.2 1,978,800
pigs 4,797,000 0.135 647,595
sows 323,000 0.425 137,275
sheep 7,657,000 0.075 574,275
goats 538,000 0.075 40,350
poultry 83,000,000 0.0034 282,200
Total 5,669,495
Animal excrements from agriculture in Romania based on 5.7 million
livestock units have a caloric value of 62.5 PJ. Biogas can be used as a
fuel for combined cicle systems to generate electricity and heat water.
These systems have a high efficiency.
In order to replace the electricity produced by one CANDU 6 unit several
small combined cycle biogas plants are necessary (e.g. 35 of the below
described type). In order to supply the demanded amount of energy plants
for the gasification 3,500 km² of farmland are needed, which is less
than 2% of the total area of Romania or about 30% of today's arable
area. During the accession process of the Romanian economy in the EU
market, agraricultural production will become more and more intensive
and part of the farmland will become available for new processes. Energy
plant generation may also be a new opportunity for these regions and its
inhabitants.
BOX 1: Total efficiency of biogas systems in Germany and Austria
Table 4: Exemplary one Module Program for Sewage Treatment Gas/ Bio-Gas
Operation (SCHMITT ENERTEC GmBH, German company producing combined cycle
systems, combustion engine units, motor engineering, plant construction; source:
http://www.schmitt-enertec.com/)
Modultype Electrical Output Thermal Output Energy Use Total efficiency
kW kW kW %
FSB-65-KSM 53 82 158 85,4
FSB-125-KSM 101 174 312 88,1
FSB-360-KSM 297 475 869 88,8
FSB-710-KSM 578 769 1616 83,4
FSB-950-KSM 771 996 2130 82,9
FSB-1125-KSM 910 1131 2430 84
Guessing in Austria is a regional center for research and development in
the field of utilization of biomass for sustainable energy production. A
new type of small power stations was developed here. As a central step a
gasification procedure is used, which offers clear advantages by using
it as a combined heat and power station. The simultaneous supply of
heat (for district heating and process steam) and electricity guarantees
a highly efficient fuel exploitation. Thus for example 2 MW electricity
and 4.5 MW district heat are made available in Guessing by the
utilization of 1,760 kg of wood per hour, which corresponds to an entire
fuel use of over 80 %.
With such new and very efficient technology biogas plants will be
competitive to conventional power stations: "The use of abandoned
agricultural area of 1 million hectar for the production of energy
plants for the biogasification could replace two atomic power plants
with a capacity of 1.000 MW each", said Josef Plank of the Styrian
chamber for agriculture. "These new plants for the utilization of biogas
represent a capacity of 6 billions kW electricity and 6 billion kW of
warmth."
Biomass material from forest and farmland is firewood, woodshaving,
sawdust, bark, pellets, waste of paper and pulp production, straw,
organic fuels, energy crops, waste and sludge.
Waste products from agriculture are important input for agricultural
biomass plants. The following table contains different agricultural
structures and their energy output in Romania.
Table 5: Different agrarian structures and their energy output in
Romania
Romania
agricultural structure Mio ha harvest amount per year MWh/ha TWh/a PJ/a
arable 9.4 40 375.2 1350.9
hayfields 1.5 35 52.7 189.9
pastures 3.4 20 68.8 247.8
forest 6.5 16 103.3 371.9
TOTAL 600.1 2,160.5
Wood is available in large amounts in Romania.
There are several methods to use for energy generation:
? Producing billet wood requires working with saws and axes; which is
labour-intensive and results in high costs.
? Sawing residue is the left-overs from wood-processing industrial
companies. It consists of large bulk as well as of smaller material
(e.g. saw dust). The bulk material is processed into wood chip.
? The wood used is usually residue from forest conservation measures,
which cannot be used for other purposes, but should not be left in the
forests because it diminishes the growth and health of better trees.
This kind of wood is an energy carrier that is ready without further
processing; if it were not used, it would simply decompose. Increased
exploitation of this wood for energetic purposes has no negative effects
on the strict law of sustainability which is employed in forestry.
? If energy prices rise, energy wood plantations with fast-growing tree
populations like poplar and willow might be a realistic option.
In practice only a small fraction of the theoretical increase of wood in
forests is usable for energetic purpose. Topografic formation, e.g steep
slopes and protection forests limit the utilization possibilities in
different regards.
Wood grows with the strength of the sun directly in our municipalities
and regions. The drying process of the energy wood is made by the solar
power. The energy expenditure for cutting up (cutting, splitting)
usually amounts to less than 1 % of the energy contained in the wood. 1
kg of dry wood has a heat value of 5 kWh. In air-dry condition with a
water content of approximately 15% the heat value is about 4,5 kWh/kg.
Furthermore, modern wood firings show less emissions and high efficiency
(up to 95 %).
Hydroelectric power plants have many positive and negative environmental
impacts, some of which are just beginning to be understood. These
impacts, however, must be weighed against the environmental impacts of
alternative sources of electricity. Until recently there was an almost
universal belief that hydro power was a clean and environmentally safe
method of producing electricity. Hydropower does not consume natural
resources. It is a simple and proven technology with a high efficiency
(about 90%). Although the investment cost are high (500-3000 ?/kW of
installed capacity), the plant has a very long lifetime and the
operating costs are small (cheap maintenance and operation). Moreover
there might be indirect advantages due to multi-purpose use (irrigation,
navigation, flood protection, potable water supply, recovery,
pisciculture).
Nonetheless hydropower can cause heavy impacts to the environment by
disturbance of the boulders and water balance, overflowing of otherwise
usable surfaces and ecologically valuable habitats, interruption and
restriction of the habitat for migratory fish, and unfavorable social
effects by the evacuation and resettlement of people (i.e. in the case
of large scale dams).
Finally, recent studies have proved that large artificial reservoirs may
produce significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly
methane, due to the decomposition of the flora submerged.
With its many rivers, Romania has great potential for hydroelectric
power (as much as 14,800 MW). The total hydroelectric power potential is
about 40 TWh per year of which 12 TWh has already been developed. There
are as many as 5,000 locations in Romania that are favorable for small
hydroelectric power plants. Many states define small hydroelectric as
facilities of 30 MW or smaller.
The Romanian government has encouraged foreign investment in hydropower
through Hydroelectrica, the state-owned hydropower producer. In 1999,
Sulzer Hydro of Switzerland won a $154 million contract from
Hydroelectrica to refurbish six turbines at the Portile de Fier I (Iron
Gates I) power plant on the Danube River. There are twelve turbines at
the Iron Gates plant; six are operated by Romania and six are operated
by Serbia. It is expected that the project will be completed in 2005 and
the capacity of the six Romanian turbines will increase to 1,290 MW from
their present capacity of 1,070 MW.
In addition to Portile de Fier, there are eleven other hydroelectric
facilities with capacities of at least 100 MW each, and dozens of
medium-sized facilities of at least 30 MW. Collectively, these power
stations represent about 77% of Romania's currently-operating
hydroelectric generating capacity.
In addition to these larger hydroelectric facilities, there are also
many smaller power stations. The Raul Mare River has a series of 10
hydroelectric power plants, each between 10 and 15 MW. Similarly, the
Strei River has a series of seven small hydroelectric power plants, each
less than 10 MW.
The planned hydropower projects achieve an increase of capacity of 200
MW alone by refurbishment of one big hydro power plant; This shows that
the technical improvement of the existing 640 hydro power plants in
Romania could increase the available capacity substantially.
Even if it is not sustainable to develop the total potential of
hydropower, an ecologically sound development of a part of the 5000
favorable sites should be seriously considered.