| Author (Person) | Ransdorf, Miloslav, Turmes, Claude |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.12, No.12, 30.3.06 |
| Publication Date | 30/03/2006 |
| Content Type | News |
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Two MEPs discuss Europe's energy problems We need to invest in research to retain a diverse energy mix and reduce dependency on imports, says Miloslav Ransdorf The Commission's Green Paper on energy is missing something: a vision of future production. The challenge is not only structural adjustment, not merely construction of new capacities and facilities, but the creation of an essentially new basis and framework. If we reduce our efforts to competition for new resources for fossil energy, we will be involved in complicated and dangerous power conflicts. The US energy strategy demonstrates this. Currently, developing countries consume 54% of oil supplies and the developed states only 46%. The share taken by developing countries will rise, according to recent forecasts, to 63% in 2030. I agree with Janez Potocnik, the commissioner for science and research, that we have to strengthen energy efficiency. Even now, the EU has the lead in this sector. For each unit of economic activity (EUR 835), the EU needs two barrels of oil, the US three, China six and India eight. This tendency should be developed. Europe's strong position in fields such as nanosciences and nanotechnology could contribute. To reduce energy consumption by 20% by 2020 means saving EUR 60 billion for the EU. It is a goal worth fighting for. The EU has set itself the ambitious target of increasing the share of total energy consumption that comes from renewable energy to 12% by 2010. It is a much needed and ambitious task. But for the next period the most important point is to maintain the plurality of national strategies and the liberty of energy policy options. A variety of energy resources will contribute to the stability of supply. It will be helped by the renewed interest in clean coal technologies, renewables (biomass, wind, solar, hydro) and - last but not least - nuclear energy . There are 149 nuclear power plants in the EU and the share of nuclear energy in the supply will grow. Despite this optimistic forecast, a diversification of both resources and countries of origin is needed. We cannot rely on a homogenised market structure. According to the Norwegian energy ministry, 25% of all registered un-exploited fossil reserves are in the environmentally vulnerable regions of the Arctic. On the one hand, these are politically stable zones, on the other hand there is an obligation to maintain the environment. Similarly, the need to diversify our resources calls us to get involved with the new resources available in Nigeria. But to construct pipelines from southern Nigeria to the north African coast there are many other problems to be resolved. The same is true for the imports of uranium concentrates from countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan We are facing the threat that our energy dependency in the EU will climb from today's 55% to 70% in 2030. Two-fifths of all the EU's gas imports originate from Russia, up to 30% from Algeria and 25% from Norway. By 2030, more than 60% of all EU imports are expected to come from the Russian Federation. Around 45% of oil imports have their origin in the Near East, 30% in Russia. Regarding coal reserves, we can assume that the biggest discovered coal reserves are to be found in Russia. Even in the case of coal, in 2030 66% of the EU needs will be covered by imports. If you add the former Soviet countries (mainly in the Caspian Sea region), you see that the EU-Russia (CIS) co-operation is of vital importance for both sides. Without European assistance, Russia would find it hard to 'colonise' Siberia and without Russian resources Europe would be exposed to the turbulences of politically unstable countries. But there is also a very hopeful field of co-operation in the area of energy research and development, in the search for new alternatives. We must intensify our diversification strategies. Some work has already been done: the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the dialogue with Kazakstan, the dialogue with Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and bilateral co-operation with six Gulf States, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. We must speed up the exploitation of the Barents Sea with the co-operation of Russia, Norway and the EU and to develop the Baltic Sea Region Energy Co-operation. We need also to import more from Libya, Angola, Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, Colombia etc. The latest proposal of the Commission to spend yearly EUR 50 billion on energy is a positive signal.
Energy supply needs to be secure, but also environmentally sustainable and economically viable, Claude Turmes The gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine at the beginning of the year has focused European attention on energy policy issues. The EU - through the Austrian presidency and the European Commission, notably Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs - reacted appropriately and helped bring about a deal. The response sent a strong message to both the Russian and the Ukrainian authorities that the EU can speak with one neutral voice. But while it is important to note that the dispute did not cause any major disruptions in the European grid, it underlined the necessity of looking at alternative solutions for Europe's gas and energy needs. Gas will continue to be an important fuel for the EU for a number of reasons, not least because it has a much lower CO2 factor than coal; it offers an alternative to our costly and polluting oil dependence; it is the fuel of choice for new entrants to the EU electricity market; and it has significantly lower environmental, health and financial risks than nuclear power. But providing a truly sustainable solution to Europe's energy problems will require not only a more comprehensive approach to diversifying our energy supply, giving priority to developing renewable energy, but, more importantly, a commitment to reducing our energy use, prioritising end- use efficiency. Europe is well placed to continue to use gas, particularly compared to the US, China or Japan, because of its proximity to the reserves of Norway, Algeria, the Caucasus, Russia and Iran. In addition, it has ready access to liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, Nigeria and Trinidad. The current problems are caused by geopolitical concerns, such as the difficulties in Iran, and infrastructure deficiencies, such as the need for LNG terminals and gas pipelines. But these problems can be overcome with the right mix of policies. The biggest weakness of today's gas market is its internal divisions. The market does not have enough entry points (gas hubs) and there is a need for a diverse pipeline system to link these. This lack of diversity can partly be blamed on historical factors but in the main is due to the lack of unbundling between the operation of pipelines and wholesale gas trading. Vertically integrated gas companies, such as E.ON or ENI, dominate their markets and can demand higher prices or hinder new entrants in the electricity market by controlling both pipeline infrastructure and trading. To help overcome this several new hubs need to be developed. A hub could easily be developed in the north-east (Poland, the Baltic countries and Finland) by combining the capacities of the world's biggest gas storage near Riga and the German-Russian (Schr�der-Putin) pipeline, which should in any case be 'Europeanised'. Another hub is already starting to function on the Austrian-Slovak border, which wou! ld benefit from the gas storage possibilities in Hungary, pipelines arriving through Italy and the completion of the Nabucco pipeline. Furthermore, a new hub could be developed in northern Spain and southern France using the Spanish pipeline and LNG infrastructure and the storage facilities in the south of France. Financing from the trans-European energy network should be focused on these investments. The other crucial aspect is to examine where and how gas is used today. Gas is an important fuel in the heating of buildings (nearly 50% of gas use in the EU25), in industrial processes (roughly 30%) and in electricity (above 20% today). Gas will remain an important fuel for industry processes. But in the building sector there are ways to rapidly reduce its use: strict standards for new buildings; acceleration of the renovation of the existing building stock; combined heat and power production in central district heating systems and the penetration of renewables to the heating market. Further reductions in natural gas use can be achieved by using domestically produced bio-gas. Current estimates suggest that up to 15% of gas demand in the EU can be met with bio-gas sources. The combination of geographical diversification, the creation of a liquid EU gas market through hubs and interconnections and a policy of developing existing efficiency and renewable alternatives would enable gas to be used predominantly in the electricity market where it is needed most.
Two MEPs discuss Europe's energy problems. |
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| Subject Categories | Energy |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
