Romania has oil, gas, coal and uranium. Guess which resource it will use to fight climate change?

[NNadir]

This weekend, CSPAN 3 - CSPAN history - had an interview with the 1972 Peace{/i] Candidate for President, former Democratic Presidential Nominee, George McGovern.

Former Senator McGovern was not being interviewed about his political life, but rather about his war life. During World War II, Senator McGovern was a bomber pilot, who piloted dangerous fossil fuel devices to drop dangerous fossil fuel bombs on German cities. He piloted or, for five of them, co-piloted 35 missions. Casualties were very high for bomber crews by the way. The target - which was seldom met - was for each bombing run to return with 95% of it's planes, and pilots were expected to complete at least 25 missions, 10 less than McGovern completed. Thus, as 0.95²⁰ = 0.358, if the targets were met, one still only had a 35.8% chance of not being shot down and most likely being killed.

McGovern discussed briefly the number of pilots who won the Congressional Medal of Honor - he won the Distinguished Flying Cross - and noted that in many cases the winners of the higher honor did nothing particularly more dramatic than the regular Joe in the regular bombing crew, although most such winners were in highly publicized raids, like the Dolittle raid.

However, one raid that was incredibly dangerous and stood out in McGovern's mind as one where certainly Medals of Honor were probably all appropriate, was the American bombing raid on the Ploesti oil fields and refineries in Romania. For much of the Second World War, these fields provided the bulk of Nazi petroleum. although the vulnerability of these fields were part of the reason for the German attack on the (then) Soviet Union. Although he survived 35 raids himself, he expressed a kind of relief that he never had to go on that raid.

For most of the 20th century, Romania was a major oil exporter, which was part of the reason that the world was so cozy with the virulent dictator Nicolai Ceausescu - he had oil.

Romania still has oil, and natural gas, although it is now thought that it has only enough reserves to last another 15 years to 20 years.

This tidbit comes from a paper in the journal Energy Policy. At the risk of having a dumb guy cite (again) the only paper he has (apparently) ever read, I cite the the abstract here:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V2W-4VV1BD3-4&_user=10&_coverDate=06%2F30%2F2009&_alid=1171596921&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_cdi=5713&_sort=r&_docanchor=&view=c&_ct=1&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=85495456912531a72e733ebba11937d1">Energy Policy Volume 37, Issue 6, June 2009, Pages 2190-2204

So which resource does Romania plan to use to meet its climate goals?

Some excerpts:

As in most Eastern European countries, energy consumption in Romania has undergone a significant drop during the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. This decrease is partly due to a decline in economic activity, particularly after the dissolution ofC ouncil of Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA)in 1991, as well as to structural transformations that took place during the transition. Consequently, Romanian GHG emission levels decreased by 50% in 2002 relative to their 1989 levels.

So there's something to be said for poverty, although many Amory Lovins types have been here to say that going into his 34th year of being wrong about how conservation will save us, along with solar and wind and a molten solar salt tank in every backyard, that the recent US slight reduction has nothing at all with people being out of work, and rather derives from winterizing McMansions. Besides becoming impoverished they had help in reducing their GHG emissions from another source:

energy supply transformations are also noteworthy, as the commissioning of the first nuclear power reactor in 1996 allowed the country to
further reduce GHG emissions.

Anyway. More About Romania:

Romania has a diverse range of natural resources, such as oil, gas, coal, uranium and other significant renewable energy resources2 including hydraulic energy,that ensures up to 67.7% of the country’s energy independency(2003). The life time of these resources is estimated at 240 years for coal, 121 years for lignite and 122 years for uranium, while it is only 14 years for both oil and gas3 (RME, 2006a). In this context,coaland uranium qre the main energy resources for the country’s energy balance; as such, two new nuclear plants are scheduled for 2010 and 2015(RME, 2006b).

The existing plants are Cervoveda are among my personal favorite nuclear plants in the world. They represent Europe's only significant heavy water (CANDU) reactors, and as such can burn once through uranium without re-enrichment in what is known as the DUPIC process. Thus all of the used nuclear fuel in Europe can be used to fire up these reactors. The next thing cool thing about them is that their waste heat is converted into district heat and is used to heat homes, water, etc.

These kinds of reactors could burn, almost indefinitely waste once through uranium from all of Europes reactors, and ultimately on excess plutonium and thorium as breederes.

Romania is a nation to watch. Originally they planned for 10 reactors and may be to 6 with in the next decade, which will make them a potential electricity exporter for deacades to come.

[kristopher]

1. ROFLMAO (He never changes....)

The full abstract:

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2009.02.001

Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

Environmental climate instruments in Romania:next term A comparative approach using dynamic CGE modelling

Rodica Loisel
aCIRED-CNRS, 45 bis, av. de la Belle Gabrielle, 94736 Nogent sur Marne, France

Received 4 January 2008;
accepted 3 February 2009.
Available online 14 March 2009.

Abstract

This study simulates a CO2 permit market in Romania using a dynamic general equilibrium model. The carbon constraint is set at 20.7% below the reference emissions level for sectors eligible according to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). Free permit distribution enhances growth despite a severe emissions cap, because environmental regulation stimulates structural changes . That is, grandfathering allows sectors additional resources to invest in developing technologies, but it also raises the CO2 abatement costs because of energy rebound effects from enhanced growth. Results under endogenous growth are very similar to those obtained under an exogenous growth scenario , as the substitution effects are responsible for the majority of variations; in addition, Romanian research activities are too modest to significantly impact this system. The abatement cost per unit of GDP is higher under endogenous growth, as spillover effects reduce incentives to invest. Technological diffusion continues to have a positive impact on economic growth, which counterbalances the free-riding attitude adopted by some energy-intensive sectors, such as glass and cement.

Now here is what made me laugh. 'nnads wrote

Anyway. More About Romania:

Romania has a diverse range of natural resources, such as oil, gas, coal, uranium and other significant renewable energy resources2 including hydraulic energy,that ensures up to 67.7% of the country’s energy independency(2003). The life time of these resources is estimated at 240 years for coal, 121 years for lignite and 122 years for uranium, while it is only 14 years for both oil and gas3 (RME, 2006a). In this context,coaland uranium qre the main energy resources for the country’s energy balance; as such, two new nuclear plants are scheduled for 2010 and 2015(RME, 2006b).

The existing plants are Cervoveda are among my personal favorite nuclear plants in the world. They represent Europe's only significant heavy water (CANDU) reactors, and as such can burn once through uranium without re-enrichment in what is known as the DUPIC process. Thus all of the used nuclear fuel in Europe can be used to fire up these reactors. The next thing cool thing about them is that their waste heat is converted into district heat and is used to heat homes, water, etc.

These kinds of reactors could burn, almost indefinitely waste once through uranium from all of Europes reactors, and ultimately on excess plutonium and thorium as breederes.

Romania is a nation to watch. Originally they planned for 10 reactors and may be to 6 with in the next decade, which will make them a potential electricity exporter for deacades to come.

Here is the full quote:

Romania has a diverse range of natural resources, such as oil, gas, coal, uranium and other significant renewable energy resources2 including hydraulic energy,that ensures up to 67.7% of the country’s energy independency(2003). The life time of these resources is estimated at 240 years for coal, 121 years for lignite and 122 years for uranium, while it is only 14 years for both oil and gas3 (RME, 2006a). In this context, coal and uranium are the main energy resources for the country’s energy balance; as such, two new nuclear plants are scheduled for 2010 and 2015 (RME, 2006b). As coal remains the main energy resource in the long run, the study of the evolution of emissions is essential to ensure long-term, sustainable economic development. Thus, the main objective of this research project is to estimate the costs of carbon reduction using two growth scenarios of the Romanian economy.
Environmental policies are tested within these two scenarios by focusing on quantities and prices. One consists in the implementation of a CO2 permit market; the other consists in the introduction of a tax on CO2 emissions.

[kristopher]

2. Romania must increase investments in renewable energy and biofuels

Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism

Romania must encourage companies and citizens to invest in alternative energy sources, so that the ratio between the electricity produced from renewable energy sources and the gross national electrical energy consumption may reach 33% by 2010, an amount equivalent to a total of 21.4 TWh. This was the main conclusion of the meeting attended by representatives of the Ministry of European Integration and the Ministry of Economy and Trade at the headquarters of ARCE (Romanian Agency for Energy Preservation), on Tuesday 29 August.

ARCE experts consider that, besides the fact that this kind of energy type is non-polluting and, practically, inexhaustible, on a medium and long term, its costs are much lower, especially as the price of oil products is rising fast. The main renewable energy sources in Romania could be solar, eolian and geothermal energy, and biomass.

The talks showed that a solution that might be developed in Romania would be to correlate tourism investments from European funds with the use of renewable energy installations (solar, Eolian etc.). For example, in Mangalia, several operators have built solar panels that provide, at least in summer, a large part of the hot water needs. Moreover, farmers can be encouraged to grow certain technical plants such as rape and sunflower, from which biofuels are extracted.

At present, the largest part of the renewable energy in Romania is produced in the hydro-energy field. Solar energy represents the safest energy source. On Romania’s territory, on a horizontal area of 1 sqm., an energy amount between 900 and 1450 kWh can be absorbed annually, depending on season. Eolian energy is more expensive than the solar. In Romania, a project has already started near the Ploiesti Industrial Park. The biomass reserves are especially wood and agricultural residues, household garbage and energy cultures. Biomass production represents a significant opportunity for rural development. Currently, the EU meets about 4% of its energy needs from biomass. At EU level, it is estimated the creation of 300 000 new jobs in the rural area, by exploiting biomass. In Romania five investment works, promoted by co-financing assured by the Phare 2001 programme of the European Union, have been finalised.

Another energy source is the geothermal, which can be exploited especially in resorts. In Calimanesti, Caciulata, Cozia, the Phare 1998 programme was already finalised .

The European Union States have taken a series of measures to encourage citizens and companies to invest in renewable energies. For example, in Great Britain, subsidies are granted to citizens and companies, so that they may install solar panels, and the energy is used for household activities. Solar energy is used and partly subsidised in Spain, Greece and Sweden. In Germany, eolian energy is one of the main renewable energy sources.

http://mie.ro/stiri_en.php?s=204&lang=en

[Hello_Kitty]

3. K and R.