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By Alexei
Nesterenko and Yelena Krasney (ECOLINE Belarus) Introduction | Current energy trends | Government Institutions | Future energy use and development | Environmental aspects of the fuel and energy complex | Energy conservation | Role of NGOs in decision-making on energy issues | Sources IntroductionThe Republic of Belarus, which became an independent nation after the break-up of the Soviet Union, is poor in fuel and energy resources. Belarus is currently developing plans for meeting the nation's future energy needs. Options include building a nuclear power plant, continuing dependence on imports, or investing in renewable energy sources. The decisions Belarus makes in upcoming years will effect not only Belarus itself; because the pollution produced in one nation crosses its borders, Belarus' decisions will effect people throughout Europe. Belarus is already closely connected to its neighbors. Belarus is dependent upon the energy resources of other formerly Soviet republics; it imports over 80% of its energy. Historically, Belarus has been strongly effected by the environmental impact of the energy policies and practices of neighboring countries. Seventy percent of the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident in neighboring Ukraine fell on Belarus, contaminating 23% of Belarusian territory; this has had a serious effect on environmental, social, and economic life in Belarus. Today, market reform pressures both at home and in Russia are increasing Belarus' need to conserve energy and explore other sources for meeting its energy needs. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are increasingly active in energy issues from energy conservation to supporting increased public participation in decision-making on energy-related topics. Current energy trendsUntil the early 1990s, Belarus was part of the USSR, which made relatively cheap fuel and energy resources (FER) available. The inexpensive cost of FER did not provide any incentive for energy conservation or investment in energy-saving technologies and equipment. Belarus became an independent country in 1992, and today is still dependent on FER from other former Soviet republics. In 1997, domestic energy resources covered 14.6% of the demand.[1]Belarus depends upon Russia for 80% of its FER supply, and on Lithuania for 2.5%. The rest of the energy is imported from the Ukraine and other Commonwealth of Independent States nations. As a result of political and economic reforms currently taking place in Russia, at some point in the future the prices for FER from Russia will reach the world market level. Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania, the primary source of Lithuanian energy exported to Belarus, is scheduled to be closed in the near future. Ukraine plans to begin decommissioning the remaining operating reactor at Chernobyl by the end of 2000. Under these conditions, the Republic of Belarus has to look for other energy sources to meet its needs. The State still controls most of the energy complex in Belarus. The gas transportation systems, electricity transmission and centralized heat supply are all monopolies owned by state. The transition to a market economy is taking place in Belarus and has slightly effected parts of the Belarusian fuel and energy complex (FEC).[2] For example, energy payments now need to be made on time; before, the payment deadlines were not very strict. At present, electricity in Belarus is still cheap in comparison with other European countries (1 kWh costs 1.3 cents). In general, the average family spends about 2 dollars per month for electricity, while the average salary in the country equals approximately $40-50. Energy use at present is decreasing in Belarus, from 49 billion kWh in 1990 to 33.67 billion kWh in 1997. It is expected that by 2015 Belarus will reach the same energy use level as it was before the 1990 economic crisis. Government institutionsAfter Belarus became an independent nation in the early 1990s, the Ministry of Fuel and Energy was divided into two. The State Energy Concern “Belenergo” is responsible for exploitation of all energy sites, planning energy development, etc. The State Committee On Energy Saving and Energy Control works to reduce energy consumption and energy costs. Future energy use and development In 1992 the Government of Belarus approved the "Energy Program of the Republic of Belarus for the period until 2010" in which the main directions of the development of power in Belarus are outlined. The Energy Policy focuses on the following four goals for the Belarusian Fuel and Energy Complex:
In addition, the Belarusian government recommends that the environmental part of the Energy Policy should be composed of the following elements:
The main purpose of Energy Policy of the Republic of Belarus is to determine and form the conditions for an efficient utilization of power resources and the reliable power supply of the country, which could raise the living standard and meet environmental safety concerns. The Belarusian government had considered building a nuclear power plant to meet Belarus' anticipated energy needs. A government commission that studied this possibility decided in 1999 to recommend a 10-year moratorium on constructing a new nuclear power plant in Belarus. See the Conclusions of the Commission for more detail. Environmental aspects of the fuel and energy complexSince 1990 the impact of FEC on the environment has decreased. Discharges of sulfur and nitrogen oxides reduced by 58% and 30% respectively and in 1994 were equal to 153.6 and 44.6 thousand tons. Reduction of sulfur dioxide discharges was due to a decrease in the total quantity of fuel burnt. This was caused by a reduction in overall production. Nitrogen oxides releases were also reduced due to the same reason and also because of measures to suppress their generation during combustion. However, the reduction of oxides discharged by FEC enterprises has not resulted in an appreciable decrease of the concentrations of these substances in the atmosphere of cities, since the power industry is not the main source of these pollutants in the urban atmosphere. Absolute mean annual levels of urban air pollution are low: less than 0.3 of the maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) of sulfur dioxide and less than 1 MPC of nitrogen dioxide.[3] The only exception is the city of Mogilev. Thus, the state of urban air basins, according to the mean annual concentrations, meets the standards of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the World Health Organization. In other words, the state of Belarusian cities in terms of sulfur and nitrogen oxides is quite satisfactory. It is important to note that the base of environmental standards in force in the Republic of Belarus now are 2-3 times more stringent than in EC countries. In particular, the OND-86, which deals with the background contamination of the atmosphere by summation of sulfur and nitrogen oxides, MPCs, and a technique for the calculation of concentrations.[4] Energy conservationThere is no data available on what percentage of fuel and energy resources are wasted in Belarus. However, it is known that the domestic use is the most inefficient sector. Both NGOs and government agencies have worked to raise public awareness and increase conservation. In 1999, the Belarusian non-governmental organization "BURENCO" which made posters on water, electricity and heat saving and posted them in the subway and different places as part of a campaign on natural resource conservation. Currently, the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services is conducting a campaign: TV clips on water saving and energy saving and the program to install counters of heat and water consumption, which let the public reduce their rent payments. Currently government conservation efforts are focused on the construction sector: all new houses must be covered with a special heat saving layer, and only new types of windows with 3 glasses are permitted in new houses. In addition, both manufacturers and householders need to comply with a strict policy of paying energy bills on time. In some cases there are also energy limits for enterprises. Role of NGOs in decision-making on energy issuesBelarusian NGOs began working on energy issues in the past few years. Until now, most of the NGO involvement has been focused on the campaigns for the conservation of energy and natural resources. NGOs did not play a role in the development of the Belarusian Energy Policy or in decision-making about other national energy issues. In the future it may be possible to influence decision-making through the newly created Public Committee on Sustainable Development. This Committee was created under supervision of the EARTH COUNCIL – an international NGO with close ties with United Nations. The purpose is to make a public body which will take part in analyzing very important decisions in the framework of sustainable development. As of late summer, 2000, only the organizational committee had been formed from five Belarusian NGOs (including ECOLINE). In the fall of 2000 the full Committee will be formed with active participation of the Ministries on Environment, Construction and Economy as well as NGOs. Belenergo representatives. Interview by Alexei Nesterenko, ECOLINE. Minsk, Belarus, May, 2000. Lishtvan, I.I. and A.A Terent’ev. "Local Fuel Resources in Belarus and Possible Scales of Their Usage. Handout for the session of the Commission on the Evaluation of the Expediency of the Development of Nuclear Energy in Belarus, 1998. "Long-term and Short-terms Development of the Energy Balance in Belarus." Materials to the session the Commission on the Evaluation of the Expediency of the Development of Nuclear Energy in Belarus, 1998. Mikhalevich, A.A. "State and Perspectives of Usage of Renewable Energy in Belarus." Materials for the session the Commission on the Evaluation of the Expediency of the Development of Nuclear Energy in Belarus, 1998. Proceedings of the sessions of the Commission on the Assessment of the Expedience of Nuclear Power Plant Construction in Belarus, Minsk, 1999. Smolyar I.N., and V.N. Ermashkevich. Atomic Energy: Arguments For and Against. Minsk: Pravo i Ekonomika, 2000 "State and Problems of the FEC of Belarus." The Commission on the Evaluation of the Expediency of the Development of Nuclear Energy in Belarus, 1998. Endnotes [1] The average domestic FER is 18% [2] The Fuel and Energy Complex (FEC) of Belarus includes all the systems of mining, transport, storage, production and allocation of all the kinds of energy resources. [3] Maximum permissible concentrations are set as state standards in Belarus. For the air, there are several groups of standards:
In all the statistics for urban air pollution, the concentrations of pollutants are compared with MPC24, which are more strict than MPCh, which assumes shorter exposure time and, therefore, allows higher concentrations. [4] (Obshchesoyuzny Normativny Dokument, All-Union
Reference Document[4]-86. Method for the calculation of
the atmospheric concentration of pollutants present in
the industrial discharges. — edited: Leningrad,
Gidrometeoizdat, 1987, 94 pages) October 2000 Last updated: March 2001 Please make comments & report problems to the Webmaster |