(Energy Efficient Strategies and Technologies Of Northern Island Authorities)
Minutes from the conference
”Energy management and the environment”
Mariehamn, Åland 25 - 26 August 1997
Meeting venue:
Hotell Pommern, Norra gatan 8-10, Mariehamn, Åland
Participating partners Delegates Title Bornholm Jörgen Jespersen Director of environmental department Gotland Ulf Johansson Project manager Keith Boxer Manager Gotland Energy Agency Bengt Mattson Building engineer Hiiumaa Ruuben Post Director of BKA Tiit Harjak Engineer Orkney Ken C Ross Manager Orkney Energy Agency Saaremaa Jüri Tuisk Director Saaremaa Electric Company Anne Oolup Building and communal counsellor Kuressaare town Åland Susanne Björkholm Deputy Head of Administration, Government of Åland Erling Gustafsson Chairman of the board, Åland Wind Power Company Gunda-Åbonde-Wikström Manager, Åland Nature and Environment Bror Johansson M.Sc.Eng., Government of Åland Jan Kahlroth Government of Åland Robert Mansén Engineer, Renewable Energy Systems, Åland Centre of Technology Robert v Pfaler Manager, Åland Centre of Technology ISLENET John Crawford Manager Other participants Estonian Power and Rein Hanni Managing director Heat Association Tiia Johansson Interpreter
MONDAY 25 August 1997
Theme of the day: Energy and waste managementOpening of the conference
Robert von Pfaler - Ålands Teknologicentrum
Robert von Pfaler opened the conference and wished every-one very welcome to the Åland islands. He expressed the importance of projects like Energy ESTONIA and hoped that it would be possible to run future projects together with the partners. Åland Islands
Susanne Björkholm - Ålands Landskapsstyrelse
Ms Björkholm gave an interesting overview of the history of Åland, its people and the preconditions for its autono my. She also explained the international treaties which concern Åland and the governing of the Åland archipelago. It was observed that Åland islands have a special status not only in its relations to Finland but also in its relations to the European Union. Åland is divided on 16 municipalities and contrary to most other European islands the richest region in the country (although the division of the islands into 16 municipalities doesn’t seem to have contributed to this fact). The wealth is a result of a prospering shipping industry, the favourable location of the islands, a high quality of life and the ability to attract highly qualified people to the region.
Åland Energy policies
Erling Gustafsson - Ålands Vindenergiandelslag
Mr Gustafsson informed about the wind power industry on Åland. Today there are only two wind power stations on the islands (one 250 kW and one 500 kW). These stations account for about 1% of the total energy consumption on Åland. At the moment the production costs are about 0,50 Finnish Marks per kWh. The Åland Islands have set a 10% goal for the wind power production’s share of the total energy consumption. This goal is supposed to be reached by the year 2006. At the moment five more wind power stations are under construction. Energy policies in Estonia
Rein Hanni - The Estonian Power and Heat Association
Mr Hanni explained the role of the Estonian Power and Heat Association, the rules for membership and the target objectives. Important objectives are the promotion of co- operation between local energy companies, submitting draft proposals for legislation in the energy field to le-gisla-tive bodies and elaborating proposals for norm documents and standards. During his speech, Mr Hanni offered a broad insight into the current situation on the Estonian energy market. Al---though great changes have already taken place it is obvious that prices and distribution conditions as well as production facilities will undergo big changes during the next few years. Most probably the liberalisation of the energy market in combination with a foreseen greater in-fluence of foreign investors will dramatically change the situation. These fore-casted changes enhances the need for a more solid and im-ple-mented legal framework in combi-na-tion based on a na-tio-nal energy strategy. On January 1 1998 the first such document, the Estonian Energy Act, is supposed to be in force. However Mr Hanni expected that it will be many years until all necessary sub-acts, regulations etc. will be fully worked out and implemented. According to Mr Hanni an Estonian Energy Policy should contain the following policy targets:
a) reliable supply
b) a competitive energy sector
c) reasonable energy prices
d) energy conservation and efficiency
e) clean environment
f) a minimum of state share in the energy market
Mr Hanni gave examples on how these policies should be formed and implemented. The historical background is important in order to fully under-stand the situation in Estonia of today. Having been a part of the Soviet Union there is a heritage that will take many years to erase. In the SWOT-analysis of the Estonian energy sector this is an obvious element of consideration. For instance, the connection of the Estonian electric grid to the Russian grid proposes diffi-cul-ties to im-prove the quality of electricity in the energy distribution network. The Narva electric plant, one of the major pol-lu-tants in the Bal-tic Sea area, is vital to the energy consumers and the economic development of the country. The plant is predicted to be the major energy producer in Estonia yet for many years to come. Furthermore Russia is the only supplier of natural gas. No other options are available and the building up of a more diversified energy production will be a long process. The Baltic Ring project might open for a less dependent energy market and more options for the national energy market.
The tables below show the situation today and the predicted situation in the year 2005: Fuels for energy production today
(estimate, not official figures)Electric energy
Type of fuel % Oil shale 98,4 Natural gas 1,0 Oil 0,5 Others 0,1
Heat energy
Type of fuel % Oil shale 10,0 Natural gas 35,0 Oil 35,0 Electricity 2,0 Solid renewables
(peat, wood)18,0 The Estonian Energy Balance 2005
Type of fuel % 1) Oil shale 40 Imported fuels 40 Solid renewables (peat, wood) 28 Other renewables 2 1) Energy form CHP about 15%
Mr Hanni ended his speech with some interesting reflections on the energy on islands.
Press conference In connection to the conference a press conference was arranged. It was attended by local radio and newspapers. (see enclosed copies of news articles)
AGENDA 21 on Åland
Gunda Åbonde -Wickström - Ålands Landskapsstyrelse
Mrs Åbonde-Wikström described methods and activities used in the introduction of the Local AGENDA 21 work on Åland. The approach was very impressive and it was interesting to study how the implementation structure was built up. The participants agreed that there is a need to exchange experiences in the field of AGENDA 21 with a focus on the energy sector but also within other sectors. Especially the bottom - up perspective is very important when working for a greater environmental awareness among the public..
Study visit
A study trip was made to Ab Chips Oy Ltd., a factory producing different products mainly from potatoes. The management at the factory has made substantial efforts to reuse energy, increase energy efficiency and to clean the waste water. Furthermore methane gas is produced from some of the recidue and used for heating the plant and in the production process. The implemented measures have been beneficial to the environment at the same time as they have reduced production costs. The factory is a good example of how high environmental awareness can be combined with increased profitability. Dinner
In the evening Ålands Landskapsstyrelse hosted a dinner. During the dinner the participants had numerous oppor-tunities to exchange information and experiences and to discuss future co-operation.
TUESDAY 26 August
Theme of the day: Summing up of Energy E.S.T.O.N.I.A.Energy audits in buildings
Bengt Mattson - Gotlands kommun
Mr Mattson presented the finalised report from the energy audits on Hiiumaa. In the report a number of typical buil- dings were described and the most cost effective measures suggested. The report was distributed and it was decided to translate the report into Estonian.
(See the full report for details)Energy audits in buildings
Jørgen Jespersen - Bornholms Amt
Mr Jespersen explained the situation concerning the planned audits on Saaremaa, which are planned to take place during the first half of September. Due to the prolongation of the project period it will now be possible to make comparative studies between the audits on Hiiumaa and Saaremaa. This will benefit not only the Estonian islands but also to a great extent the EU partners. Energy audits in buildings
Ulf Johansson - Gotlands kommun
A discussion was held following the presentations. The discussion focused on how to use the results and how to disseminate the results not only to the Estonian partners but also to the EU-partners. How to change and improve decisions in Estonia to favour more energy efficient solutions was also an important topic. It was suggested that one key group is the local politicians. They often make decisions based on very weak background material or according to their own, self made opinion rather than facts. Other important target groups are the tenants and hose owners. One difficulty in Estonia today is the unbelievable mix of ownership situations. On top of that, as a natural consequence of 50 years of Soviet rule, the experience of ownership is very scarce and the principles of real property ownership not very well understood. Especially in blocks of flats the situation is almost impossible to handle since there are usually no organisation of tenants and the finan-cial capacity is very different for one owner compared to another. While some tenants understand the need for changes and both have the money and willingness to act, others are unaware of the substantial savings that can be made or simply cannot afford to make profitable, long term investments. Awareness campaigns need to be launched in combination with improved financing possibilities to achie-ve any improve-ment. Special assistance to organising of tenants is another important measure. Energy efficiency manuals
Robert von Pfaler - Ålands Teknologicentrum
Ken Ross
- Orkney Energy Agency
Mr Ross gave a splendid overview of the activities of the Orkney Energy Agency. A great number of very good examples of activities was also presented to the benefit of all partners. Leaflets and promotional campaigns were shown. Mr Ross also showed how the general public can be invited to take active part in the process and how energy efficiency measures are being introduced in the Orkney islands society. The presentation was followed by a common discussion on methods and approaches. Representatives of Bornholm and Gotland shared their experiences and the Estonian partners got a lot of good examples to use in future campaigns on their islands. Pilot projects in the Estonian Islands
Ruuben Post -Hiiumaa
Anne Oolup
-Saaremaa
Mr Post gave an update on the situation on Hiiumaa concerning the start up of pilot projects and implementation of results from the activities so far. The very long delay of funding from Phare has caused a lot of problems and no pilot projects have been possible to start until today. How-ever Mr Post was assured that as soon as funding arrives pilot projects are well prepared and will be possible to carry out. Ms Oolup informed about the progress on Saaremaa. She said that Saaremaa is well prepared to start their activities as soon as all funding arrives. Pilot project buildings have been selected in Kuressaare and as soon as Bornholm has finished the energy audits activities will begin. Conclusions
Ulf Johansson - Gotland
It was discussed how the EU partners could best support the implementation of results and be informed about the progress of pilot projects. It was expressed that it is very unfortunate that the co-ordination of project funding has been so bad. The Estonian part of the project will now really start up and enter a phase that would have been very beneficial for the EU-partners. It was agreed that although officially the Ecos-Overture part of the project is over information will be exchanged. Some kind of final meeting should also be arranged during spring 1998. Mr Johansson and Mr Post agreed to co-ordinate their reports in order to give the most possible output to all partners. Energy E.S.T.O.N.I.A.
Ulf Johansson - Gotland
John Crawford
- ISLENET
The seminar was concluded with a common discussion and conclusions from the project. Mr Johansson offered some information concerning the interim and final reports. He underlined the necessity that all partners submit all the necessary information on time. Other practical issues concerning the finalisation of the project and dissemination of results were also discussed. Mr Crawford gave his opinion about the project and the fulfilment of the project plan so far. It was agreed that the Ecos-Overture part of the project had been carried out according to plan despite the se-vere delays and changed time schedules. Possible future joint activities involving the Energy ESTONIA partners were informally discussed. Mr Johansson thanked all the partners for their support and wished them all success in their coming efforts within the energy field. He also thanked the organis End of the conference
Robert von Pfaler - Ålands Teknologicentrum
Mr Pfaler thanked all participants and the interpreter on behalf of the organisers and hoped to see all his islands friends soon again.
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