Objective
The objective set within this joint energy/environment approach was a willingness to arrive at coordinated solutions. Furthermore, the forward-looking measures developed for this situation would have to permit implementation by national and municipal as well as local authorities. The objective of the project with regard to the sectors studied (heating, hot water, electricity, energy for the processing and transport industries) was to provide the following statistical and practical information :
* a report on environmental areas on the island of Bornholm.
* a study of the contribution of energy flows to overall pollution on the island with details for each energy source and each type of production technology.
* an analysis of a range of scenarios covering both energy consumption and its effects on the environment in order to present a coordinated action programme.
Coordinated processing of information has provided regional authorities with reliable methods which could also be used in other regions of Denmark and the EC.
This method illustrates the extent to which the assessment of ecological repercussions becomes a determining factor during the decision making process in this sector.
IMPORTED POLLUTION
Depending on the scenario envisaged, the recommendations advocate a 50% to 80% reduction of the levels of SO2 as well as a 25% to 60% reduction in nitrate in order to achieve the threshold limits.
However, the model shows that pollution in the region is, to a very large extent, the result of discharges from outside the island and, therefore, that local initiatives cannot, in fact, have much influence on these pollutants. Bornholm can, in this respect, be considered a "demonstration zone" which illustrates the urgent need for coordination of national and even international endeavours.
LOCAL PARTICIPATION IN THE "ENERGY 2000" SCHEME
The regionof Bornholm has incorporated its plan of action into the Danish national "ENERGY 2000" programme. The principal initiatives advocated are :
- savings in industrial consumption and electrical energy in the private and public sectors by means of a range of information and financial incentive measures.
- a policy of encouraging energy suppliers to equip themselves with more performing and less polluting technologies.
- the use of "clean" energy sources to guide demand towards natural gas, biomass or co-generation.
The results for 1987 served as a starting-point for estimating energy requirements up to the year 2010. In this first phase, measurements of the levels of emission, dispersion and deposits of pollutants were also simulated in order to establish threshold limits for sulphur dioxide, nitrate, cadmium, carbon dioxide, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, dusts and dioxin. It should be noted that the concept of a threshold limit is defined as "the maximum deposit of a pollutant not having any long term harmful effect on the environment or population.
MEASURES FOR THE FUTURE
With regard to energy, the study was based on satisfying future demand. The technological variants were then combined according to different economic and energy indicators (consumption per fuel type, pollutant emissions, imports and employment).
The next task was to develop measures for the future to respond to this twin concern, in particular :
* a catalogue of the technologies available for meeting demand;
* a list of environmental priorities - this would also facilitate the quantifying of the effects of changes in production techniques;
* a computerised simulation model of the scenarios selected.
These procedures facilitated the description of three progressive simulations :
* a reference scenario showing the effects of a continuation of present policies.
* a "global ecological action" scenario aimed at reducing CO2 discharges by 50% compared with 1987.
* a "local ecological action" scenario with SO2 and nitrate discharges reduced by 70% and cadmium emissions by half.
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
DEM - Demonstration contractsCoordinator
3700 RONNE
Denmark