DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND PROBLEMS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN GREECE

Transcription

1 Proceedings of the 11 th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology Chania, Crete, Greece, 3 5 September 2009 DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND PROBLEMS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN GREECE G. MAKRIGIANNIS 1,2 and A. MAVRAKIS 2, * 1 Physicist Economy and Regional Development (M.Sc.) 2 Environmental Physicist (Dr), Department of Economic & Regional Development, Panteion University, 136 Syngrou Av., GR Athens * mavrakisan@yahoo.gr EXTENDED ABSTRACT The main trend in developmental theories nowadays is the Sustainable Development theory that sets environmental protection as a pre-requisite for economical growth. In 1992 more than 180 states met in Rio and agreed on a common action plan for the protection of climate and the environment within the views of sustainable growth. Thus, after the Conference an international framework was created (AGENDA 21, Green Bible, Habitat II, Agenda, and Urban Agenda) within which. Actions having as common characteristic the developmental model of sustainable growth are coordinated. Many of the solutions discussed in AGENDA 21 concern actions at a local level. Therefore the role of local authorities is considered very important for the realization of the aims of AGENDA 21. Energy production and its use are considered responsible for the largest part of climate change. Consequently, energy policy becomes an important factor for the protection of the environment. According to the principles of sustainable growth this policy should have not only economic but also socio-ecological aims. Sustainable growth requires actions "from beneath", an element giving local authorities an important role in energy policy making since they are closer to local problems and able to coordinate those actions. This paper illustrates the policies concerned with the energy orientation of the country (Greece), the renewable energy applications and the entanglement of the country in fossil fuels, i.e. energy sources harmful for the natural environment and in the long run hinders the adoption of new technologies. Furthermore, the paper outlines the actions needed to be developed, through a down-top process, in order to achieve sustainable development and protect the environment. For the above purpose we investigate the energy growth rate for European states and we focus on the situation for Greece. The investigation includes all directions and kinds of renewable energy forms and applications, as well as the major policies and regulatory measures and incentives adopted by the Greek governments. The data used were retrieved from internet sources, from the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), the Greek Centre of Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), and the Greek Energy Regulator Agency (RAE). The conclusions are focused to the actions that need to be taken and also includes some suggestions regarding the policies that must be applied. KEYWORDS: Renewable energy, energy production, energy policies, sustainable growth. B-590

2 1. INTRODUCTION Today s energy production in Europe is mainly dependent on oil, solid fuels, renewable resources, natural gas, biofuels and other sources. Since 1997 and Greece s signing of the Kyoto Protocol and most importantly, the binding commitments that the agreement establishes by 2005, the global energy balance has been disrupted; a disruption that was strongly felt in Europe and consequently also in Greece. The need for oil independence is imperative both for E.U. member states, which are by 50% dependent on oil, and Greece in specific, which is by 65% dependent. The main strategy of the E.U. on oil is to maintain oil dependence only for certain sectors of the economy (road transport and petrochemicals), so that it cannot directly or indirectly influence the entire economy. Therefore the role of natural gas is of strategic importance for oil as well. In this way the political influence of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is weakened, as the consequences of its decisions will be limited. On the other hand, the geopolitics of natural gas are to a large extent different from those of oil. The oil independence of the Greek economy can only follow the same strategy. As a result, the energy issue has two dimensions: an economic dimension and a political dimension, which have a cause-and-effect relationship. Political developments influence the economy and economic consequences influence home and foreign affairs. Also the question of how energy production will take place in the future is of crucial importance. Natural energy resources (brown coal and oil) are limited and their use is associated with environmental deterioration. From a statistics viewpoint, a citizen of modern society consumes as much energy annually, as is produced from 6 tons of brown coal, releasing 12 tons of carbon dioxide, thus leading future societies and next generations to times of challenged climatic conditions. In Greece, according to the official positions of the Public Power Corporation, the development of the energy sector was based on brown coal a fuel of strategic importance for the following reasons: Provides fuel supply security; Has low mining cost as the mines of the country are surface mines and not underground mines, and also its price has been dropping in the last years; Secures stable price and produces a kilowatt-hour of low price; Contributes to regional development and employment; Its use as a fuel in the production of electrical power contributes to an enormous saving on foreign currency and largely increases the Gross National Product (by 1 billion euro annually); Brown coal has been the primary pillar of power production for more than 50 years and can also continue to be in the future; The exploitation of brown coal beds and major brown coal reserves in the regions of Drama and Elassona (900 and 150 tons respectively) must provide a prompt solution to the problem of brown coal exhaustion in the region of Megalopolis using appropriate planning and new technology. This paper illustrates the policies concerned with the energy orientation of the country (Greece), the renewable energy applications and the entanglement of the country in fossil fuels, i.e. energy sources harmful for the natural environment and in the long run hinders the adoption of new technologies. Furthermore, the paper outlines the actions needed to be developed, through a down-top process, in order to achieve sustainable development and protect the environment. For the above purpose we investigate the energy growth rate for European states and we focus on the situation for Greece. The investigation includes all directions and kinds of renewable energy forms and applications, as well as the major policies and regulatory measures and incentives adopted by the Greek governments. B-591

3 The data used were retrieved from internet sources, from the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), the Greek Centre of Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), and the Greek Energy Regulator Agency (RAE). 2. RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (RES) 2.1 General Background The main characteristic and advantage of RES is their contribution towards energy independence from exhaustible energy resources with small environmental consequences, and at the same time the fact that they constitute a domestic energy resource, thus contributing to decrease reliance upon foreign oil and enhance energy supply security. As positive aspects of RES, one could mention the following: They are spatially scattered, making it possible for spatially isolated areas (e.g. islands) to cover their energy needs while at the same time reducing transport losses; Independence from exhaustible energy resources; They constitute domestic energy resources, thus contributing to national energy independence and to security of energy supply; Not influenced by the global economic environment and price levels in specific; Investment on RES opens up new employment opportunities on local level and intensifies labor activity; They can act as a pole for local development and boost economic revival in economically disadvantaged regions. The objectives of the E.U. as well as the commitments of Greece within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol practically mean that by 2010, RES of around 2500 MW (or a percentage of 12%) have to be established in the country. However, the power generated from RES in 2005 in Greece amounted only to 620 MW and was produced from wind parks of 525MW, small hydroelectric power stations of 68MW, biomass of 22MW and 5MW photovoltaic plants. Finally an important issue that needs to be addressed is the rational use of energy in all sectors. 2.2 Solar energy With 5.28% of its power produced from RES, Greece finds itself close to the average of E.U. member states (5.61%), holding the 9 th position among E.U. countries. On global level, Europe comes first in the production of power generated in wind parks, whereas 73% of the global power production is based in European territory presenting constant uptrend. However, the target of 12% RES -based primary energy production by 2010 seems rather unlikely to succeed and may only reach 10%. 2.3 Wind energy In Greece there are generators of 3,000 KW operating on a pilot basis, as well as wind parks of a maximum total power up to 40 MW as a measure for the reduction of cost. There has also been some experience with municipal wind parks, in which municipalities produce power to cover their own needs. 2.4 Geothermal energy Depending on the temperature of fluid or dry rocks, it can vary from low, to middle and high enthalpy geothermal energy. Low and middle enthalpy geothermal energy can be implemented in agriculture (greenhouses) and heating, whereas high enthalpy geothermal energy is suitable for the production of electrical power. The exploitation of geothermal energy with thermal pumps can take place anywhere and not just in areas of high geothermal enthalpy. At a depth from 0 to 150m, temperatures range between ο C, making exploitation of geothermal energy possible. B-592

4 Some of the advantages of smooth low-enthalpy geothermy are the following: it is available almost everywhere throughout the year providing stable supply; the exploitation plant is not of high requirements and does not cause problems; temperatures around 25 ο C are suitable for the production of both hot and cold water and therefore, for heating spaces. The type of exploitation depends on the type of geothermy available. For example, in 1990 Switzerland used 5,000 geothermal heat pumps of a depth between m, whereas a geothermal power plant is built in Riehen (1993), which uses a 1547m deep drill hole and the thermal energy will be used for the needs of 1000 residents in hot water supply. 2.5 Hydro-electric energy If we do not take into account the large hydro-electric power stations of PPC, Greece is not as developed as other E.U. countries when it comes to small hydro-electric stations. However, in 2004 Greece presented the largest growth in this sector than any other member state. The installed power of small hydro-electric stations has shown a remarkable growth by 57%; private investors, the PPC and the local authorities can plan and implement small hydro-electric stations serving a multipurpose exploitation for electrical energy production and the demands of agriculture and tourism. Examples worth mentioning are the dam in the municipal district (D.D.) PERDIKKA and the small hydro-electric station in Agkistros (0.6 MW power, production of 1,726MWh), which cooperates closely with the Local Authorities of Agkistros and the group of small hydro-electric stations of the Centre for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES). Lately emphasis is given to small hydro-electric stations, which not only contribute to seasonal or continuous power production, but also sustain water supply, irrigation and help resupply the underground aquifer. Rational management of water resources has a direct impact on regional development and energy self-sufficiency of the country. Moreover: The use of hydro-electric stations does not emitted pollutants; The conversion to electrical energy is high-grade; There is no heat emission in the environment. 2.6 Biomass and energy exploitation of waste The term biomass refers to by-products, waste produced from natural, animal, forest and fisheries production, as well as produced materials after industrial processing, urban sewage and waste, natural material from agricultural and forest crops and finally energy plantations. This type of energy production has significant economic flexibility and elasticity, because depending on the selection of annual or perennial plants and rotation of crops, it is ideal for covering the needs of small urban, rural or industrial centers. As a reference, it should be mentioned that agricultural waste of the country produced from cereals, tobacco, cotton, fascine etc. suitable for energy production amount to 3,000,000 tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE), whereas forest waste totals 9,000,000 TOE. It is usually used to cover the needs for heat in geographical applications or in teleheating of cities while at the same time producing electrical energy. In addition, biomass can be used for the following purposes: greenhouse heating and livestock units heating, heating production units located near biomass energy resources, electrical energy production within production sites and covering tele-heating and tele-cooling needs of towns and cities which are located near production sites. The main disadvantage is the surface required, as one electrical energy production unit with biomass power of 20 MW requires approximately 48,000 stremmata (Greek unit of land area, equal to 1000 square metres) of arable land. In Greece, some CRES projects that were implemented under the Valoren Programme have been successful, among the most important of which the tele-heating project applying biomass combustion for the Community of Nymphasia in the Prefecture of Arkadia, and also the project of substitution of oil for the ginning mills of Agricultural Co-operatives of Farsala, Giannitsa. B-593

5 A type of energy production from biomass is energy exploitation of waste, mainly municipal solid waste (MSW). The processing methods used today are: a) sanitary landfill, b) tank waste retrieval, c) composting and d) combustion. Waste combustion can produce electric energy, although waste possesses low calorific value and could be characterized as poor fuel. The HKW Saudreuth combined heat and power station in Nurnberg is a successful European example of waste exploitation for energy, where electricity and heat is generated for tele-heating using steam generated from waste combustion. The project leads to a saving of 400 million KWh, corresponding to an equivalent energy production of 50,000 tons brown coal. 2.7 Natural gas In Europe already 50 million households and 6 million industries and businesses use natural gas. With regard to Greece, the main reason why introduction of natural gas was decided was the attempt to improve the country s energy balance. Moreover one has to take into account that creating the infrastructure for natural gas itself was one of the most important development projects being implemented in Greece. Up to now natural gas covers only 8% of national energy needs, the largest part of which is consumed by PPC. Chemical Use 6% Trade Sector 28% Electricity Production 38% Industrial Sector 17% Co-Production 11% Figure 1. Predicted distribution of natural gas consumption per sector in 2020, the year of the project s full implementation. Important is the fact that 38% of consumption will be used for electricity production. Source DEPA (Public Gas Corporation). The emerging domestic natural gas market of Greece is growing effectively and planned alternative supply sources of the system will provide safe and clean energy in rates which in medium term should not exceed 25-30% (Figure 1). As much as 32% of natural gas is consumed by industries in OECD countries and that, as previously mentioned, for reasons of oil independence, and also economic and environmental reasons, as it contributes to reducing pollutant emissions. Natural gas is used in transport: for example, the buses of ETHEL (Thermal Bus Company) circulate in Athens using natural gas, thus reducing both transport cost and pollution. At the same time attempts are made to expand the use of natural gas to municipal vehicles, as well as vehicles of private and public companies using large vehicle fleets. Finally, as regards electricity production, establishing combined heat and power systems could achieve an important cost reduction. Also the replacement of other types of fuels with natural gas for B-594

6 electricity and heavy industries can improved air quality conditions (Mavrakis et al., 2005). 3. CONCLUSIONS The energy sector of Greece was defined by the intense urban development and the remarkable expansion of agricultural and industrial production. Furthermore, the limited growth of the heavy industry played an important role, contrary to the manufacturing sector. All the above mentioned parameters as well as the climate of Greece created low energy needs. However, in recent years GDP growth has resulted in a respective increase of the country s energy needs, whereas at the same time natural gas and renewable energy sources were introduced in the Greek market. Greece today is ranked as a country of mild per capita energy consumption, Figure 2. However, this largely depends on the type and the amount of production. In relation to this, the tertiary sector is generally regarded as a sector of mild energy consumption in comparison to the primary and the secondary sectors KWh Νορβηγία Σουηδία Φινλανδία Λουξεμβούργο Βέλγιο Ελβετία Γαλλία Αυστρία Ολλανδία Δανία Γερμανία Figure 2. Among EU countries, Greece (black bar) is ranked as a country of mild per capita energy consumption. Source: VDEW Αγγλία ΚΡΑΤΗ Ιρλανδία Σλοβενία Ισπανία Τσεχία Ιταλία Ελλάδα Ισλανδία Πορτογαλία Ουγγαρία Πολωνία Furthermore we witness an economic irrationalism with regard to energy, mainly formed on the basis of the following aspects: Pricing policies originally aiming at boosting competition and relieve households; nevertheless, these policies did not succeed in raising awareness to the public for example, the use of air-conditioning systems led to an increase of electricity consumption during summer months. Urban planning and public transport in their current form encourage a extremely high consumption of fuels Due to the lack of appropriate water resources management and hence the need for water pumping, low yield crops are exceedingly energy-consuming Whereas in other European countries, railways constitute a very important means of transport both for citizens and goods, in Greece goods are mostly transported with transport trucks. It is also interesting to further look into the issue of stagnation regarding the energy production structure in Greece during the last 20 years. Undoubtedly the role of natural gas is important and in the last years is has entered in the electricity production sector dynamically, creating the conditions for a certain level of convergence to European standards. None of the Greek parties has ventured to propose an independence plan from lignite (brown coal) or to make proposals regarding the future of Greece with reference to energy issues and economies of specific regions, which are fully dependent on PPC. Seen both on a national and local level, Greece is a country that consumes excessive amounts of energy inefficiently, as it relies solely on fossil fuels and does not exploit B-595

7 alternative energy sources. It should also be stressed that saving does not only apply to oil but other forms of energy as well, especially electricity, the consumption of which has exceed all reasonable limits, not only in quantitative terms, but also due to inappropriate uses of energy. Instead of an afterword, some examples are being discussed demonstrating the problems the country has to overcome for the promotion and integration of RES: For granting authorization for a RES exploitation project, an opinion has to be issued from 27 concerned bodies. The Greek photovoltaic market remains at 0.1% of the global share, although Greece is a country with high level of sunshine (mean monthly sunshine ranging from 140 hours [December] to 370 hours [July], as measured at the National Observatory of Athens in the area of Thission) ( Energy demand increases by 3.5% per annum and the installed power by 8% per annum, primarily for reasons of covering the needs during the high tourist season. Even in new production units, the main fuel is fossil fuels, mostly natural gas and oil. Mild and renewable forms of energy are still very limited, while unfortunately at the same time already existing motives are being abolished, such as tax exemptions and for solar water heaters. There is obvious lack of measures for tackling energy waste, as well as rational energy management for 200,000 public buildings, which produce a total cost of over 450 million euro. Energy saving actions designed for these buildings could save 22% of energy or 140,000 TOE per year, a 425,000 tn reduction of CO 2 emissions per year, and finally an economic benefit of 110 million euro annually. Certain changes in construction and insulation requirements for public buildings could save as much as 40% of energy consumption. An average Greek household consumes up to 80% more energy for heating purposes in comparison to a household in Denmark, and this is caused due to the lack of appropriate insulation and also due to the use of high energy consumption heating systems). The deviation from commitments based on the Kyoto Protocol regarding CO2 emissions reaches 100%! This practically means that every year we will have to pay thousands of millions of euros to purchase pollution emission rights from other less developed countries or countries that have reduced their own emissions, whereas with the same amounts we could build wind parks able to produce hundreds of megawatts. REFERENCES 1. CRES, (1996) Guide to Renewable Energy Sources. Possibilities of use by Local Administrations. 2. Loukakis P., 1996: Energy and water demand as planning parameters on a regional and local scale. Proceedings of Conference of Energy Sources and Water Potential in Thrace 3. Makrigiannis G., 2003: Energy conservation policies and local development. M.Sc. Thesis, Panteion University 4. Makrigiannis G., Mavrakis A., Theoharatos G., 2005: Local authority actions for the reduction of energy consumption and green house gases emissions. Proceedings of the Second International Exergy, Energy and Environment Symposium (IEEES 2), XV.181, p.99, Kos Greece, 3 5 July Sartzis I., 1988: Energiewinschaftspol tik und Wirtschaft iche Entwicklung, Eine Uctersuchung am Beispiel Griechenlands. Hieronymous/Neuried 6. URL: (accessed 20/11/2008) 7. URL: (accessed 20/11/2008) 8. URL: (accessed 20/11/2008) 9. URL: (accessed 20/11/2008) 10. URL: (accessed 20/11/2008) B-596