Reduction of the emissions of greenhouses gases, increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the energy balance, increasing electricity production from renewable energy sources and decreasing energy dependency represent the main goals of all current strategies in Europe. Biomass co-firing in large coal-based thermal power plants provides a considerable opportunity to increase the share of RES in the primary energy balance and the share of electricity from RES in gross electricity consumption in a country. Biomass-coal co-firing means reducing CO2 and SO2, emissions and it may also reduce NOx emissions, and also represents a near-term, low-risk, low-cost and sustainable energy development. Biomass-coal co-firing is the most effective measure to reduce CO2 emissions, because it substitutes coal, which has the most intensive CO2 emissions per kWh electricity production, by biomass, with a zero net emission of CO2. Biomass co-firing experience worldwide are reviewed in this paper. Biomass co-firing has been successfully demonstrated in over 150 installations worldwide for most combinations of fuels and boiler types in the range of 50-700 MWe, although a number of very small plants have also been involved. More than a hundred of these have been in Europe. A key indicator for the assessment of biomass co-firing is introduced and used to evaluate all available biomass co-firing technologies.
COBISS.SI-ID: 23593511
Development of the utilisation of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency represents the main policy for sustainable development. The overall target of the European Union Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewables (RES) is to achieve at least a 20% share of energy from renewables in the gross final energy consumption in 2020. The mandatory national target for Slovenia is a 25% share of energy from RES in the gross final consumption. The share of RES in the gross final energy consumption in Slovenia was 18.8% in 2011 and the share of electricity production from RES was 30.8% in the gross electricity consumption. Electricity production from photovoltaics (PV) and biogas plants in agriculture has been growing fast after the adoption of the new supportive decree for electricity from RES in 2009. The very fast growth of PV plants has caused a problem for financing electricity from RES. Similar effects have been also recorded in the biogas sector, which represents a threat to food production. The state of the art, targets and challenges of electricity production from RES in Slovenia are described in the paper.
COBISS.SI-ID: 28197415
This paper presents Slovenian experiences related to a customized educational solution called EUREM (European Energy Manager) involving the training of energy experts in the field of energy efficiency. The EUREM training program is offered in 27 countries around the world and covers nearly all the energy-relevant issues that can arise in public and private companies. The final output of the practical training is a company-specific prefeasibility study that deals with energy weak points and energy efficiency measures that have a high implementation potential. The presented curriculum of the EUREM training program provides a solid basis for increasing the knowledge and skills of energy managers and was developed with an emphasis on practical experiences related to the deployment, demonstration, measurement and verification of energy-efficient solutions in industry and buildings. Regular surveys and communications involving former training participants indicate that the EUREM training program has stimulated Slovenian energy managers to make significant energy savings in their companies. Around 55% of the Slovenian EUREM training participants confirmed that in addition to their energy concepts, they had also realized additional energy efficiency projects after they finished the training course. Based on the experience gained during the past 8 years of the training program's implementation in Slovenia we can conclude that the energy experts really appreciated their practical education and training with on-the-job support from professional coaches. The future challenges of the education and training program are related to follow-up activities, the development of interactive tools and the curriculum's customization to meet the constantly growing needs of energy experts from industry.
COBISS.SI-ID: 30059815
Smart metering and various consumption-feedback systems can be used as applicable technology to encourage end-use energy efficiency in the residential sector. Many studies have demonstrated the positive influence of socially contextualized feedback on the energy consumption of households, but not many such studies dealt with the specifics of low-income households. This paper evaluates the effect of customized consumption feedback and other information interactions on energy-behaviour patterns and energy savings in low-income households. The experimentation process was accompanied by an interactive awareness campaign, with the emphasis being on a proper understanding of the consumption feedback and other complementary energy services provided to low-income households. The feedback actions were customized to tackle the recognised needs of each specific target household, considering both the social aspects and the typology of the dwelling. The results clearly confirmed the importance of customized information and efficiency indicators for specific household groups, with a potential to increase knowledge and develop awareness with respect to established habits and their relevance to energy behaviour.
COBISS.SI-ID: 30061351
The energy dependency of Slovenia is high (52.1%), but it is a little lower than the average energy dependency in the EU 27 (53.8%). Slovenia imports all its petroleum products and natural gas and partly coal and electricity. The energy intensity of Slovenia is higher by about 50% than the average in the EU27. The target of the EU Directive on energy end-use efficiency and energy services adopted in 2006 is to achieve a 9% improvement of EE (energy efficiency) within the period 2008-2016. The new target of the EU climate and energy package "20-20-20 plan" is a 20% increase in EE by 2020. Since 1991 theSlovenian government has been supporting energy efficiency activities. The improvement of EE was one of the targets of strategic energy documents ReSROE (Resolution on the Strategy of Use and Supply of Energy in Slovenia from 1996 and ReNEP (Resolution on the National Energy Programme) from 2004 adopted by the Slovenian National Assembly (Parliament) in previous years. The Energy Actadopted in 1999 defines the objective of energy policy as giving priority to EE and utilization of renewable energy sources. The goals of the "National Energy Action Plan 2008-2016 (NEEAP)" adopted by the Slovenian government in 2008 include a set of energy efficiency improvement instruments in the residential, industrial, transport and tertiary sectors. The target of the NEEAP is to save final energy in the 2008-2016 period, amounting to at least 4261 GWh or 9% of baseline consumption. The indicators of energy efficiency trends show considerable improvement in the period from 1998 to 2007. The improvement of EE was reached in all sectors of manufacturing, transport and households. The paper analyses the structure, trends of energy consumption andenergy efficiency indicators by sectors of economic activity. A review of energy efficiency policy and measures is described in the paper.
COBISS.SI-ID: 24555815
The need for competitiveness on the global market is the main driver for industrial companies to systematically and continuously analyse all possibilities for the optimisation of production process and related costs reduction. Modern industrial processes are increasingly complex with highly dynamic energy use patterns. A systematic approach to industrial energy system analysis requires proper understanding of interactions among the main factors influencing energy performance. Also, systematic approach takes into consideration not only efficiency of individual equipment or machines but also their performances within a system where each piece of equipment delivers specific function. This paper presents a context sensitive production planning and energy management approach for achieving energy savings and emissions reduction in energy intensive industry. Combination of decision support for production planning and simulation of possible future situations with context sensitive monitoring and targeting are vital elements of proposed approach and are necessary for continuous improvement of energy performance. The proposed approach includes four building blocks: (1) ambient intelligent data acquisition and context processing, (2) energy modelling and emissions calculation including the prediction engine, (3) decision support services and the (4) knowledge repository. The proposed approach has been tested in the real industrial environment and initial testing results are indicating the potential of the proposed approach to initiate sustainable changes in the production process. Also, external factors that are beyond control but which do influence daily operations of energy intensive industrial companies have been analysed, for example process operators' behaviour and variations in production outputs.
COBISS.SI-ID: 29442599
Samples from six Scots pines (P. sylvestris), six Norway spruces (Picea abies)and one sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) tree, growing on the Borst uranium mill tailings waste pile in Slovenia were collected. 238U, 230Th, 226Ra and 210Pb activity concentrations in wood, shoots and 1-year-old needlesor leaves were determined. Particular radionuclides were separated from the samples by appropriate radiochemical procedures and their activity concentrations measured with an alpha spectrometry system. In addition, concentration ratios for different plant parts were calculated.
COBISS.SI-ID: 25251367
Radiological doses to terrestrial wildlife were examined in this model inter-comparison study that emphasised factors causing variability in dose estimation. The study participants used varying modelling approaches and information sources to estimate dose rates and tissue concentrations for a range of biota types exposed to soil contamination at a shallow radionuclide waste burial site in Australia. Results indicated that the dominant factor causing variation in dose rate estimates (up to three orders of magnitude on mean total dose rates) was the soil-to-organism transfer of radionuclides that included variation in transfer parameter values as well as transfer calculation methods. Additional variation was associated with other modelling factors including: how participants conceptualised and modelled the exposure configurations (two orders of magnitude); which progeny to include with the parent radionuclide (typically less than one order of magnitude); and dose calculation parameters, including radiation weighting factors and dose conversion coefficients (typically less than one order of magnitude). Probabilistic approaches to model parameterisation were used to encompass and describe variable model parameters and outcomes. The study confirms the need for continued evaluation of the underlying mechanisms governing soil-toorganism transfer of radionuclides to improve estimation of dose rates to terrestrial wildlife. The exposure pathways and configurations available in most current codes are limited when considering instances where organisms access subsurface contamination through rooting, burrowing, or using different localised waste areas as part of their habitual routines
COBISS.SI-ID: 26468391
Partitioning of natural radionuclides in sediments from streams affected by the waste piles of the former uranium mine and mill located atZ irovski vrh, Slovenia, was performed by applying a sequential extraction procedure. The sediments were collected at three sites located upstream and three sites located downstream of the waste piles. Then the four-step Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) sequential extraction protocol was applied to the samples and the natural radionuclides 238U, 230Th, 226Ra, 210Pb and 210Po were analysed in each extraction fraction. It was expected that the fractionation of natural radionuclides originating from the waste piles would differ from that upstream of the influence of waste piles because their chemical environment had been altered during the processes of uranium extraction. This difference could allow tracing of the radionuclides coming from the waste piles downstream of the affected watercourses. The results definitely showed that the total activity concentrations at sites downstream of the influence of the waste piles were higher than at sites upstream of the piles. However, this difference was geographically very limited and could no longer be detected already at a distance of about 5 km downstream. Unexpectedly, the fractionation of radionuclides upstream and downstream of the area of influence of the waste piles did not appear to be significantly altered. The sole differences found were for 238U and 226Ra in the second fraction (the Fe/Mn oxides fraction) and for 210Po in the fourth fraction (the residue fraction) of the BCR sequential extraction protocol.
COBISS.SI-ID: 26522407
Construction of an LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) terminal by TGE (TGE Gas Engineering GmbH) is currently planned to be located along the Slovenian coast near the city of Koper. Two other LNG terminals are also planned: one in the Trieste port and the other off shore in Trieste Bay in Italy. Focusing on nautical operations, the purpose of this paper is to identify potential risks and to assess their levels as consequences of increased LNG activities. The ports in the area are host to a variety of vessels, including containers, tankers and chemical carriers, general cargo vessels, passenger ferries, bulk carriers, ro-ro carriers, etc.; and a large number of recreational and fishing vessels can be located on the navigational line towards ports located in Trieste bay. There are around 2500 vessels calling at the Port of Koper a year and approximately the same number at the Port of Trieste as well as a few hundred more nearby at the Port of Monfalcone. Using a quantitative approach, collision and grounding risk assessment will be analyzed for the shipping situation in the area, obtained through AIS (Automatic Identification System).
COBISS.SI-ID: 2348643