Energy Perspectives for the Baltic Sea Region (Sept. 2009)
New interconnectors and regional development of energy markets will ensure the most efficient use of the available energy resources and energy infrastructure in the Baltic Sea Region. This is one of the main conclusions of the report “Sustainable energy scenarios – Energy Perspectives for the Baltic Sea Region”.
The study clarifies the strengths of the Baltic Sea Region and the opportunities for shaping coordinated regional energy policies and solutions. The study demonstrates how the energy sector of the entire Baltic Sea Region could become much stronger through better coordination. The analysis included two overall scenarios on how to implement the EU energy and climate targets within the energy and transport sectors by making better use of the region’s energy mix.
This has been investigated via detailed analyses based on the precondition that within the electricity and district heating sectors the targets are to reduce CO2 emissions in 2030 by 50 % relative to 1990-figures and to reduce oil consumption in 2030 by 50 % relative to 2005-figures.
The report shows that:
- Joint planning for wind farms will entail many benefits and provide the best utilisation of electricity grids.
- Biomass used as a regional resource on an integrated biomass market for energy purposes will make the whole region better off.
- Many old power plants in the region with low efficiency should be replaced with new technology in order to ripe all the benefits.
The report concludes that technologies available today can meet the targets for reducing CO2 emissions and increasing the share of renewable sources. There is no need for technological leaps.
The report has been prepared in ongoing dialogue with politicians, civil ser-vants, including BASREC, energy companies and other relevant stakeholders in the countries around the Baltic Sea Region. The prefaces of the report were thus written by Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Energy; Mart Jüssi, Chairman of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference Working Group on Energy and Climate Change; Stefan Windh, Union of the Baltic Cities Energy Commission and Hans Jørgen Koch, Chairman of the BASREC Group of Senior Energy Officials.
The report was presented in October 2009 by Baltic Development Forum and Ea Energy Analyses. The study is a multi-client study, financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Nordic Council, the Baltic Development Forum and the Mads Clausen Foundation, Danfoss.