vgbe energy journal 7 (2022) - International Journal for Generation and Storage of Electricity and Heat

Eastern Europe – Energy security and coal
Eastern Europe –
Energy security and coal
Stephen Mills
Abstract
Osteuropa –
Energieversorgungssicherheit
und Kohle
Osteuropa hat eine komplexe und bewegte Geschichte
und wird weiterhin von internen und
externen Einflüssen geprägt. Viele Faktoren
spielen eine Rolle, z.B. politische und wirtschaftliche
Abhängigkeiten, Gebietsstreitigkeiten
und geteilte Interessen bezüglich wichtiger
Akteure wie der Europäischen Union (EU)
und Russland. Die Frage der Energiesicherheit
in der Region hat nach dem Einmarsch Russlands
in die Ukraine zunehmend an Bedeutung
gewonnen. Russland ist der Hauptlieferant
von Erdgas für weite Teile Europas und
die darauf folgenden Unterbrechungen und
Liefereinschränkungen haben die Risiken
deutlich gemacht, die mit einer übermäßigen
Abhängigkeit von einer einzigen externen
Energiequelle verbunden sind. Viele Länder
prüfen ihr Energieportfolio und versuchen, er-
Autor
Dr Stephen Mills
International Centre for Sustainable
Carbon (ICSC)
London, United Kingdom
schwingliche und nachhaltige Alternativen zu
Öl, Gas und Kohle aus Russland zu finden.
Dies wird nicht einfach sein, zumindest nicht
auf kurze Sicht. Länder mit einheimischen
Energiereserven wie Stein- und Braunkohle
werden besser in der Lage sein, diese neuen Herausforderungen
zu meistern.
In vielen europäischen Ländern ist die Kohlenutzung
zurückgegangen, was vor allem auf
die EU-Politik und die nationalen Maßnahmen
zur Förderung des verstärkten Einsatzes
erneuerbarer Energien und von Erdgas sowie
auf die höheren Kohlenstoffpreise im Rahmen
des EU-Emissionshandelssystems (ETS) zurückzuführen
ist. l
Full report available at
https://www.sustainable-carbon.org/
Eastern Europe has a complex history and
continues to be shaped by internal and external
forces. Political and economic alignments,
disputes over territory and land annexation,
and split loyalties between major players such
as the European Union, China and Russia are
contributing factors.
Some eastern European countries are small
and poor compared to their western counterparts.
This can limit their available energy
resources, although several have sizeable reserves
of hard coal and/or lignite, used to generate
much of their electricity. The report covers
the non-European Union (EU) countries of
Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia,
Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine, some of
which are candidate EU member states. Others
have closer alignments with Russia or are
more engaged with China, via the Belt and
Road Initiative. To achieve EU membership
countries must align with the bloc’s commitment
to decarbonise, meaning the eventual
phase-out of coal-fired power generation.
However, some lack the resources to fully replace
their coal capacity with sustainable, affordable
alternatives and so continue to rely
on their coal-fired power plants for electricity.
Funding is limited for upgrading or replacing
old, inefficient plant, which means some major
polluting units continue to operate. Thus,
governments of some prospective EU member
states face conflicting requirements; they wish
to achieve full EU membership and to decarbonise,
but must also have a reliable, affordable
supply of electricity. Numerous proposals
for new generating capacity assumed they
would be fuelled by Russian gas; for many, this
is no longer an option.
The Russian-Ukraine conflict highlights the
fragility of energy sectors over-reliant on a single
technology or heavily dependent on external
sources of energy. Some eastern European
countries, including several aspiring EU member
states, are not able to eliminate coal power.
Coal sourced from indigenous reserves or imported
from a portfolio of reliable outside suppliers
provides some control and stability over
energy costs and greater security of energy
supply.
Various coal power projects have been proposed
or are under development in eastern
Europe. Some involve upgrading and improving
existing plants, others are for new plant.
The impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
means that many existing plants are now likely
to operate for much longer than previously
anticipated. Despite many earlier plans to use
Russian gas as a direct replacement for coal
power, supply uncertainties may incentivise
the development of more coal-based power
projects.
Introduction
Eastern Europe has a complex and often
troubled history and continues to be shaped
by both internal and external forces. Many
factors are in play such as political and economic
alignments, disputes over territory
and split loyalties between major players
such as the European Union (EU) and
Russia.
Some countries in the region are EU member
states: Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Hungary,
Poland, Romania and the Slovak Republic.
Other ‘candidate countries’ aspire to
join and are in the process of integrating EU
legislation into national law: Albania, Montenegro,
North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.
Several others such as Bosnia and Her-
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