Rahandusminister Martin Helme (EKRE) kohtus eile Auveres Eesti Energia ametiühingute esindajatega ning rahustas neid sellega, et riik ei jäta töötajaid oma muredes üksi.
„Esiteks, meie valitsus mõistab täielikult olukorra tõsidust,“ ütles Helme. „Absoluutselt pole vastuvõetav, et põlevkivielektri tootmine Eestis ära lõpetatakse. See valitsus ei lase sellel juhtuda.“
Üheks praeguse olukorra põhjuseks on nimetatud CO2-kvoodi hinnatõusu. Kvoodikaubanduse mõte on suruda välja musta energiatootmist, sealhulgas põlevkivist toodetud elekter.
Martin Helme on sellesse alati ülikriitiliselt suhtunud. „Minu meelest on see väljamõeldud kriis. Keegi kunagi otsustas, et CO2 on just see aine, mida hakkame mõõtma ja maksustama. Kui nüüd küsime, kui palju on see maksustamine päriselt aidanud kaasa kasvuhoonegaaside heite vähenemisele, siis vastus on näiteks USA, kes ei ole liitunud Kyoto ega Pariisi kokkuleppega, aga kellel on CO2 heitekogus vähenenud,“ ütles Helme Postimehele, lisades, et Euroopas, kes on olnud lippude lehvides kliimapoliitika eestvedaja, on heitekogus suurenenud. Rääkimata Kolmanda Maailma riikidest ja Indiast, Hiinast, Venemaast.
Helme: „Nüüd oleme absurdselt piinlikus olukorras, kus Eesti energiatootmine on kriisi aetud selle CO2 tõttu ja samal ajal ostame Vene elektrit, mis on odavam, sest seal ei maksustata CO2 heidet.“ ENG - ERR
Minister of Finance Martin Helme (EKRE) found that a modern nuclear power plant could be one alternative to oil shale-based electricity. This would require an investment of €10-15 billion, however.
Speaking to daily Postimees (link in Estonian), Helme said that it won't be possible to fully substitute oil shale-based electricity with renewable energy, and that one possible alternative would be a nuclear power plant, which needs to be weighed obectively as modern nuclear technology is looked into.
"We have to realize that the Chernobyl and Fukushima reactors are reactors from older generations," the minister said. "Nuclear reactors exist that employ new technologies and are not in danger of exploding."
According to Helme, if Estonia decided to go this route, a nuclear plant would entail an expensive investment in the range of €10-15 billion, and electricity production could begin by 2030. Until then, however, existing oil shale plants should revert from producing electricity to producing more shale oil.
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In Estonia / Eestis16 Jun 2019 15:49
Mare Taagepera: “The one-sided use of the rich raw material-oil shale-has led to rapid depletion of reserves. In 1939, oil shale was projected to last "at the present rate of consumption" another 3,000-4,000 years.26 By the 1950s only 200 years of reserves remained. More recently, the projection is for another 30-50 years or for just another generation.27 It would indeed be ironic if one of the few states of Europe which could be self-sufficient in energy were forced to start importing energy. Oil shale mining and electric power production has increased some 10-20 fold over the last thirty years (Table 3)-much too rapidly to keep pollution problems under control. Of the total 16 x IO9 kwh of electricity produced in 1973, only 6 billion was used in Estonia. Ten billion kwh were used in the Leningrad area and Latvia.28
Estonians make up roughly 0.5% of the total Soviet population, yet they provide some 2% of Soviet electric power. As seen in Table 4, per capita electric output in Estonia has increased more rapidly than the Soviet average. The production increase has come without regard to environmental disruption. Mining losses are outrageously high: up to 50% in the "Estonia" mine.29 Most of the by-products such as lower grade shale, limestone, and peat are simply dumped.”
Andsoforth
Good questions:
“This article is concerned with the pollution problem in the Baltic republics in a worldwide time and space framework. The current phase of ecological history- the industrial phase-differs from the previous phases because of the following factors: ( 1 ) the growth rate of energy consumption is greater than population growth; (2) biochemical cycles are no longer intact; (3) the environment has been overburdened with synthetic chemicals; (4) world population has been doubling at the rate of once every 35 years instead of once every 1 ,500 years before the industrial phase.1 The industrial phase with its spiralling population and industrial growth cannot last. The post-industrial phase lies ahead and survival will depend on humankind's ability to adapt biologically and culturally. How is the world adapting? How are the Baltic states adapting?"
Mare Taagepera, 1981. POLLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE BALTICS Source: Journal of Baltic Studies, Vol. 12, No. 3, SPECIAL NUMBER: BALTIC REFLECTIONS OF WORLD ISSUES (Fall 1981), pp. 260-274
The above case of oil shale mining in Estonia is an example of the Great Acceleration.
Re Helme and “an expensive investment in the range of €10-15 billion” for nuclear power:
“The meltdown at Three Mile Island turned a multimillion dollar asset into a multibillion dollar liability overnight and helped seal the fate of nuclear power in the United States. To claim otherwise is nothing but public relations spin.” https://www.greenpeace.org/usa...