EFFICIENT USE OF WOOD RESOURCES ON THE POWER INDUSTRY OF LATVIA

The aim of the paper is to determine the potential of energy-efficiency in the production of the -wood resources. The beginning of the paper provides a short review of the existing situation as well as a list of main problems in wood resource usage in the power industry of Latvia. A special attention is paid to large amounts of fuelwood exports. The paper gives information on the potential of fuelwood and its distribution.The result of the research is the calculation ofpotential wood resource savings resulting from energy-efficiency increase activities in heat sources, heating mains and consumer systems, which are already run using fuelwood. As a result of energy-efficiency activities in the heat energy production process, it is possible to save up to even 4.2 million MWh of wood fuel.At the end, approximate calculations of emission savings in case of the utmost efficient wood usage have been carried out

Koksnes resursu efektīva izmantošana Latvijas enerģētikā

The aim of the paper is to determine the potential of energy-efficiency in the production of the wood resources. The beginning of the paper provides a short review of the existing situation as well as a list of main problems in wood resource usage in the power industry of Latvia. A special attention is paid to large amounts of fuelwood exports. The paper gives information on the potential of fuelwood and its distribution. The result of the research is the calculation of potential wood resource savings resulting from energy-efficiency increase activities in heat sources, heating mains and consumer systems, which are already run using fuelwood. As a result of energy-efficiency activities in the heat energy production process, it is possible to save up to even 4.2 million MWh of wood fuel. At the end, approximate calculations of emission savings in case of the utmost efficient wood usage have been carried out

Implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Impact on District Heating Regulation

Discussions in Latvia are ongoing regarding the optimum solution to implementing Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency. This study analyses a scenario where a significant fraction of target energy efficiency is achieved by obliging energy utilities to implement user-end energy efficiency measures. Investment related costs are likely to be included in the energy prices and service tariffs therefore gains for the users are under question. The authors analyze ways to achieve a balance between user gains from energy end-use savings and increased energy prices and tariffs as a result of obligations imposed upon energy utilities including the energy supply sectors where supply tariffs are regulated. Authors also have assessed the disadvantages of the current Latvian district heating regulation and have marked the next steps for a transition from hard regulation towards the approximation of benchmarking and market principles

Simulation of Energy Development Scenarios in Latvia on Regional Level

Up to now the development scenarios of Latvian energy and fuel balance were mainly designed for the national level. However in the regional level there are significant differences both in energy consumption and fuel resources used. For the simulation and comparison of different energy development scenarios, MESAP (Modular Energy System Analysis and Planning) software, allowing making calculations at national and regional level without changing the structure of the model, was used. To perform a detailed regional modelling, Latvia was split in 6 regions, each having a separate forecasted electricity, thermal energy and fuel final consumption. For the regional modelling, similar RES structure to overall Latvian energy balance development options simulation was used. Three development scenarios in the regional level have been simulated: base scenario (I), scenario of maximal use of renewable energy resources and domestic energy resources (II) and maximum production of electrical energy and fuel diversification scenario (III). The choice of scenarios can be substantiated with a necessity to promote usage of renewable energy resources, as well as with decrease of electricity imports proportion in the energy balance of Latvia. The simulation results show, that the increasing demand of energy can be covered in several ways – by continuing to import power, maximally using the renewable and local energy resources, as well as using coal and biomass mix for the production of electricity

Biomass Usage Potential in Power Industry of Latvia

The paper provides insight in wood biomass resources of Latvia. The authors describe current and potential volumes of wood used in the thermal energy and electric power production in Latvia as well as available technologies for combined heat and power production