Eesti Energia: Informed respondents support investment in oil shale plants

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About half of respondents in a recent survey taken on a random sample were aware of Eesti Energia's investments to bring its oil shale production into line with today's requirements and of informed respondents 76 percent supported investment in oil shale power plants, the Estonian state owned energy group said on Monday.

A major challenge for Eesti Energia, which conducts its international operations under the Enefit brand, is to make the current, mainly oil shale based electricity generation greener and thereby to preserve the current generating capacities in the long term, the press release said.

"To this end, we are pursuing several important development projects. For example, the power plants in Narva invested approximately 110 million euros in scrubbing flue gases of sulphur emissions in order to make the generation of electricity from oil shale greener and to also ensure the preservation of generating capacity after environmental requirements become stricter," Raine Pajo, member of the management board of Eesti Energia, said commenting on the outcome of the survey by TNS Emor.

A restriction which came into effect in 2012 more than halved the amount of permitted sulphur emissions from 60,000 tons to 25,000 tons annually, Pajo said. Thanks to the new sulphur treatment equipment, sulphur dioxide emissions into the ambient air were reduced approximately threefold. Production of electricity from oil shale became cleaner after the equipment was installed, while the production capabilities of Estonia's large power generating subsidiary will be preserved at existing levels.

Also in 2012, the installation of lime dosing equipment started with the aim of achieving the required levels of flue gas treatment irrespective of the quality of the oil shale burned. Lime systems will be completed in 2013. By 2016, equipment to cut nitrogen emissions will be installed additionally at the generating units of four power plants in Estonia, allowing emissions of nitrogen oxides into the air to be cut as much as twofold, the management board member said.

To reduce environmental impact, Eesti Energia is actively working together with research agencies, developing its production processes to be greener and allocating resources for the maintenance and rehabilitation of mining areas, the press release added.

In the survey taken by TNS Emor in January 1,100 randomly chosen people between ages of 15 and 74 were interviewed.

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