Prospects for a Peat-derived Energy in a Wider Europe

23Mar
1999

The dinner-debate, organised at the invitation of the International Peat Society (IPS), provided a platform for information on the discussions of the workshop co-ordinated by DG XVII/European Commission and the IPS, on the same day, which aimed at learning more about peat energy in a wider Europe. The International Peat Society, which was created in 1968, has members in thirty four different countries, and there are 17 National Committees. The Australian National Committee was the latest to join. The IPS has a wide range of members. Most members are scientists and researchers, it also includes environmentalists and industry.

The subject of the dinner-debate was presented by Paddy Hughes, Managing Director of the Irish company , and member of the Executive Board of the International Peat Society, and by Timo Nyronen, Director of R&D of the Finnish company Vapo Oy.

Peat is the partially decomposed remains of plants which have accumulated in a waterlogged environment. There are enormous deposits of these remains which are on the earth’s surface. Peat is harvested from the earth surface and air dried. Therefore wide areas are left behind which can be used to recreate carbon sinks, either in forestry or wetlands.
Peat is a low density fuel so it is seldom traded across country borders. Annual EU energy use of peat is approximately 3.5 which is less that 0.3% of total EU energy requirements. Finland and Ireland are the main peat energy users (1.9 and 1.2Mtoe/annum respectively). While it only accounts for a small proportion of the total EU energy requirement, it is an important regional energy source. In Ireland it is 10% of primary energy consumption and 6% in Finland and Estonia, 2% for Latvia and 1% for Sweden and Lithuania.

In each of these cases, it is an indigenous fuel and provides strategic security of supply for these countries. The governments of Ireland, Finland and Sweden are committed to supporting their peat industry.The fact that the construction of anew 120MW peat fired power station in Ireland was supported by EU Regional Fund aid, is an indication that the peat industry is also underpinned by EU regional policy.

In both the case of Finland and Ireland there is a very high dependence on imported fuels and, as well as having favorable balance-of-trade effects, the use of indigenous sources has the important advantage of ensuring more reliable access to energy, especially in cases where there are interruptions to supply.

Because of the nature of peatlands and of peat formation, it acts as a block to the development of physical infrastructure.The peat industry is based in some of the most poorly developed regions of the EU, so it is of major socio economic importance on a regional basis. The regions where the peat industry is found are characterized by poor infrastructural development, low population density and little tourism or industrial activity. In these areas, the peat industry has a higher employment generating potential than the alternatives.It iscalculated that there are the equivalent of more than 6,000 person years in Finland, more than 4,000 in Ireland and 1,200 in Sweden.

The after uses of cutaway bogs (eg forestry, wetlands, agriculture) increase the opportunities for economic development in the region and is a central element in the longer term sustained development of the region.The regional multiplier effect depending on the degree of leakage and varies from 1.2 to 2.It has a particular skills base, relevant to the local forestry and agricultural industry and helps stabilize out -migration from such regions, which means that it can make an important contribution to the coherence of what might otherwise be fragile rural communities.
Enlargement of the European Union

There are significant amounts of peat in central Europe and the Baltic states in particular have large peat deposits which are among their very few indigenous energy resources. How these peat deposits can and should be used, and how these countries might develop their energy peat industries is also an issue for the future of the industry.
Because of the way in which peat develops and is used, there are a number of environmental issues Peatlands themselves are unique and valuable habitats, and anyone who seeks to develop them must be fully aware of this, and be prepared to act responsibly.In so far as original habitats which have been removed are concerned they cannot be replaced but nature reserves of great value can be developed.