Estonia to give up use of oil shale in energy production

Wind power is one of the alternatives to the polluting energy source

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Estonia’s greenhouse gas emissions have been halved since 1990, which surpasses by many times the goals set in the international Convention on Climate Change.
      But this is not enough. Estonia’s period of transition agreed with the European Union with regard to the Narva power plants comes to an end in 2016.
     
By then the production units dating back to the Soviet era will have been partly modernised and partly replaced with new equipment. The Narva power plants utilise oil shale, which is a fossil fuel, to produce electricity for the use of Estonia, the Baltic States, and the Nordic Countries.
      “This EUR 100 million investment is one of the largest in recent years. It enables the significant reduction of the environmental impact of the old units while the present electricity production capacity is ensured in the future as well”, says Tõnu Aas, CEO of the Narva Power Plants.
     
Inside the power plant, the difference between the old and the new parts could not be any clearer.
      The old section is dust grey. The new annex glimmers in silvery tones. In the old half all the texts are in Russian. In the new section the manufacturer’s name is printed in English: Foster Wheeler.
      The Narva Power Plants are owned by the State of Estonia through its Eesti Energia company.
      “For the use of oil shale there are no tangible alternatives in the near future. The rock will satisfy Estonia’s energy needs for the next five to ten years”, says Eesti Energia CEO Sandor Liive.
      “In the long term, energy produced by using oil shale can account for no more than half of the country’s electricity consumption”, Liive says.
     
The customers of Eesti Energia can already choose between conventional and renewable energy production when signing their electricity contract. Those 3,000 customers who have already opted for the use of electricity produced by using renewable sources pay higher tariffs for their “clean energy”.
      According to the latest statistics from a year and a half ago, 13 per cent of Estonia’s total electricity consumption was satisfied by using renewables.
     
Winds of change are blowing in the Estonian energy market, however. There are plans to increase the volume of the country’s wind turbines sixfold in the near future. On the Suur-Pakri island in Northern Estonia, geological surveys are currently under way to establish if the place is suitable for building a nuclear power plant.
      These are the most realistic options for replacing oil shale - a known problematic pollutant - as an energy source.
     
Through chemical processes it is also possible to convert the kerogen contained by oil shale into synthetic crude oil. In Narva, Eesti Energia is erecting a new oil refinery in cooperation with the Finnish Outotec.
      The idea is that in two years’ time the unit will produce two million barrels of crude oil per year. Later plans include more than trebling this amount.
      Eesti Energia and Outotec also plan on exporting this technology into Jordan, where there are large unused oil shale reserves.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Estonia to prepare a decision in principle for nuclear power plant (16.2.2009)

See also:
  Smoke from oil shale power plants gradually clearing in Estonia (6.9.2005)

Links:
  Oil shale (Wikipedia)
  Eesti Energia

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