Smoke from oil shale power plants gradually clearing in Estonia

Narva smokestacks still puff out as much sulphur dioxide as Finland as a whole

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By Heli Saavalainen in Narva
     
      A mountain of ash rises to a height of nearly 40 metres in the oil shale power plant area in Estonia’s Narva. The heap grows by one metre each year, as the two power plants in the area produce over five million tonnes of ash annually. The old ash field next to the newer pile resembles a desert.
      The Narva power plants, located in North-eastern Estonia close to the shore of the Gulf of Finland, are quite a sight: ten square kilometres of land are covered by ash, and the sludge pits, surrounded by sand embankments, are full of corrosive water.
     
The open quarries cover an area almost the size of Helsinki, and the piles of rock that come as a by-product of the underground mines look like tall hills in the countryside.
      The 250-metre smokestacks of the power plants exhale small particles, heavy metals, greenhouse gases – and sulphur dioxide. The power plants emit nearly as much sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere as Finland’s energy production, industry, and traffic combined.
      A part of the sulphur emissions wind up in Southern Finland as acid rain.
     

Last year’s sulphur dioxide emissions totalled nearly 70,000 tonnes. The emissions have decreased substantially since the 1980s, as in the Soviet era production levels were up to three times higher than at present, and the environment was not a cause for concern.
      Now local power company Eesti Energia has the clear intent to put environmental issues in order. In fact it must, as Estonia negotiated in its EU membership agreement a transition period for the use of oil shale that lasts until 2016. By 2016, the old power plants must be modernised or shut down.
      "By 2012, the sulphur dioxide emissions will total 25,000 tonnes at most", promises Rein Talumaa, the head of the Narva power plants. "Upgrades have already cut the emissions. At the same time, it has been possible to raise the efficiency of the power plants."

The first phase of modernising the power plants, which have been in poor condition, has now been completed.
      Two energy production units have been revamped. At the same time, sulphur emissions have plummeted to a fraction of their earlier level, even though there is no separate sulphur removal system.
      "Now there are 27 milligrams of sulphur dioxide per cubic metre coming out of the smokestacks, whereas the maximum level allowed is 200", Talumaa reads off the figures on the monitors of the control room. "I am very pleased to be able to show off figures like these", he grins.
     
The burning facility is so new it shines, in stark contrast to the old, dust-filled unit.
      There are twelve units in all. The majority of the electricity is still produced by the old method, which creates much larger emissions than coal-based electricity.
The environmental effects of oil shale were investigated in a life-cycle analysis prepared by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Eesti Energia, and Estonian consultants CyclePlan. The study compared the environmental consequences of electricity produced with oil shale and coal, starting with the acquisition of raw materials.
      A Finnish coal-fired plant produced the smallest emissions and waste.
      The study also compared what types of emissions are created when various electricity production methods are used to make one hundred metres of wood panelling. In the environmental profile for wood panelling, electricity produced with oil shale caused the largest carbon dioxide and sulphur emissions.
     
According to Jyri Seppälä, head of research at SYKE, there is still scope to improve environmental protection considerably in oil shale production.
      "If new technology is introduced in all units of the power plants, it would be possible to cut all key emissions so that they fall to a level even below that of a coal-fired plant", Seppälä explains.
      According to Tõnis Meriste, environmental chief at Eesti Energia, not all the units will be modernised, but some will be dismantled. "It is a question of how much electricity Estonia needs, and how much will be bought from abroad in the future", he says.
      The ash fields that surround the power plants will be landscaped within the next few years. Meriste explains that the alkaline water will be collected and neutralised, after which trees will be planted in the area. There are plans to build a wind-power park here.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 29.8.2005

More on this subject:
 BACKGROUND: Estonia's natural resource

HELI SAAVALAINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
heli.saavalainen@hs.fi