[Green-global] more positive news...Sweden Oil Free?

[Roger Pye]

Basically Distant Heating is heating by pipeline. Enter 'distant
heating' into google, there are 543 references. One is
http://www.kraljevo.co.yu/english/infrastr.htm  It includes this passage:

 > 5000 (approximately 25%) of flats in Kraljevo are connected to the
 > distant heating system. Heat is produced in five boiler rooms whose
 > total installed power is 65 MW. Natural gas is used for heat
 > production in 80% of capacities, and liquid fuel is used in the other
 > 20%. According to the criteria of density of the settled area
 > (MW/km2), it would be very economical to double the scope of distant
 > heating in this town. This is limited by the lack of capital, low
 > economic power of the population and, especially, inadequate state
 > policy in this field.


Pellets are Bioenergy, the pellets are made from woodwaste, woodchips 
etc. The technology derives from woodchip heating, something we have 
known in OZ for many years. Sweden produces 500,000 tonnes of pellets a 
year. Heating costs are slightly less than oil but I imagine this varies 
from country to country.

cheers Roger


Linda Seaborn wrote:

 > Interesting article.  the renewable energy sources mentioned are : 
'distance heating 'and 'pellets' does anyone know what they are?
 > It's good to hear news like this - we need a lot more of it
 >
 > Linda
 >
 > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ruth Rosenhek"
 > <ruthr at ozemail.com.au <mailto:ruthr at ozemail.com.au>> To: "Anne
 > Goddard" <winter___ at dodo.com.au <mailto:winter___ at dodo.com.au>> Sent:
 > Sunday, January 08, 2006 8:36 AM Subject: Re: [eco-feministwomen]
 > positive websites
 >
 > here's some good  news too from Sweden... ____
 >
 > Swedish Press Dec 2005
 >
 > SWEDEN PLANS ON BEING THE FIRST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO BE  FREE FROM
 > OIL IN 2020
 >
 > Minister for Sustainable Development Mona Sahlin has declared  that
 > Sweden is going to become the first country in the world to break
 > the dependence on fossil energy. Sweden will stop using oil by 2020
 > and  eventually the energy supply of the country will be based on
 > renewable energy only.
 >
 > n-global



Rainforest Information Centre wrote:

> Swedish Press Dec 2005
> 
> SWEDEN PLANS ON BEING THE FIRST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO BE  FREE FROM  
> OIL IN
> 2020
> 
> Minister for Sustainable Development Mona Sahlin has declared  that Sweden
> is going to become the first country in the world to break  the dependence
> on fossil energy. Sweden will stop using oil by 2020 and  eventually the
> energy supply of the country will be based on renewable energy  only.
> 
> The goal is to gradually rid the country of gasoline-run cars  and 
> oil-heated
> homes. This is going to be achieved through tax discounts,  more efficiency
> in energy and by large-scale investments in renewable energy and  in 
> research.
> Already next year there will be tax incentives for single  family 
> homeowners
> to switch from oil to renewable energy to heat their  homes.
> 
> Such financial incentives are already available to libraries, aquatic
> facilities and hospitals that want to switch to more efficient renewable 
> energy.
> The expansion of distant heating continues to be an important tool in  this
> process. The Swedish government also wants to make environmental cars  more
> affordable. One of the ways it is doing this is by not subjecting fuel 
> that is free
> of carbon dioxide to the energy tax or 10 the carbon  dioxide
> emission tax. Environmental cars will also nol have to pay  the congestion
> tax that will be introduced in Stockholm in January and  many 
> municipalities
> allow free parking for such cars.
> 
> Swedish industry and the economy as a whole are already  benefiting from a
> lower dependency on oil in an international comparison.  Since 1994 the 
> use of
> oil in residences and in the service sector has  dropped by 15.2 TWH. The
> consumption of oil in industries has remained at  the same level since 
> that year,
> even though industrial production has  increased by 70 percent. A growing
> number of households make use of the  advantages of distant
> heating as well as of pellets.
> 
> Minister Sahlin's latest statement on the abolition of oil in 2020 is
> actually just a confirmation of a goal set a long time ago. Sweden has 
> been  a
> pioneer in the environmental field and has introduced many innovative 
> measures
> through the years to achieve its goals.
> 
> Already in 1990 Swedes implemented a "green tax shift". Taxes  on energy 
> and
> on carbon dioxide emissions were raised, while other taxes,  such as 
> those on
> payroll were decreased by an equivalent amount. Sweden  also invested 
> heavily
> in its cities and towns. Municipalities
> receive grants  to conduct long-term climate research and make 
> investments in
>  environment-friendly technology. Not only has this helped cut local
> pollution,  it has also raised the level of public awareness of 
> environmental issues.
> 
> In 1999 a unanimous national goal was established for all the country's
> major environmental problems to be solved within one generation, by the 
> year
> 2020. The Swedish Parliament gave unanimous approval to 15 national targets
> including a phasing out of all use of hazardous chemicals by 2020; 
> ensuring  that
> all lakes and watercourses are ecologically sustainable,
> their habitats  and ecological and water-conserving function preserved;
> providing a safe and  sustainable supply of drinking water and 
> contributing to
> viable habitats  for flora and fauna; pro-lection of the value of 
> forests for
> biological  production, while biological diversity,
> cultural heritage and recreational  assets are safeguarded, and a healthy
> living environment to be provided by  cities and towns where buildings and
> amenities must be located and designed  with sound environmental 
> principles.
> 
> There are interim objectives for each target, regional and  local 
> objectives
> to match, and an Environmental Objectives Council to  monitor progress 
> towards
> the goals. Progress is charted through 70 national  indicators, which track
> results and verify whether the country is heading in  the right direction.