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Energy consumption in the Basque
Country is clearly unsustainable. On the
one hand, most of the energy we consume
is imported and based on fossil
fuels; on the other, the decision-making
centres that control the energy infrastructures
are based outside the Basque
Country. This situation is unsustainable
in the long term. Unfortunately, the
authorities do not seem to notice.
The self-supply index which reflects energy selfsufficiency
is low: 5.4% in the Basque Autonomous Community
(2007), 14.9% in Nafarroa Garaia (2006) and 1.4% in The North
Basque Country (2004)1, giving a figure of around 7% for the Basque
Country as a whole. In the European Union, where concern
about energy dependence is high, the figure is 50%. |
Associate Professor at the University of the Basque Country |
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Hardly any fossil fuel is mined anymore in the Basque Country
and its energy production is based on renewable energies: in the
Basque Autonomous Community mainly biomass; in Nafarroa Garaia
electricity created by wind farms; and in The North Basque
Country electricity generated from small hydroelectric plants and
biomass, in equal measure. Overall, 60% of energy produced in the
Basque Country comes from biomass and around 30% of electricity
is wind-generated (predominantly in Nafarroa Garaia). Unfortunately,
the contributions from solar
thermal energy and photovoltaic
electricity are insignificant
and fall well short of
their true potential.
According to objectives
established by the European
Union in 1996, by 2010 renewable
energies should account
for at least 12% of total
energy consumption. In Nafarroa
Garaia this goal has already
been reached – in 2006
the percentage was 13.3%,
and the Government of Nafarroa
Garaia is expecting to reach
14.7%2. In contrast, in the Basque Autonomous
Community renewable energies accounted for about
5% – the Basque Government has admitted that it will
be impossible to reach the 2010 target – and in The North
Basque Country the figure was below 2% in 2004. In the Basque
Country as a whole, renewable energies are responsible for
about 6.4% of overall consumption and we are therefore a long
way from meeting the target. On top of that, we should bear in
mind that the European Council has established a minimum renewable
energy share of 20% by 2020.
While it is true that in recent years there has been an increase
in the use of renewable energy sources, this has not been sufficient.
What is more, certain steps taken by the government authorities
are leading us in precisely the opposite direction. For example, the
strong commitment to natural gas in the Basque Autonomous Community
is worrying. The use of natural gas, which must be imported
from other countries, leads to CO2 emissions which, albeit to a
lesser degree than coal, nevertheless cause pollution. For example,
when the gas-fuelled combined cycle Boroa power station operates
at full power (755 MW), it produces almost 280 tons of CO2
per hour. If the forecasts of the Basque Government are borne out,
by 20103 the electrical power of the combined cycle power stations
will provide 65%4 of total power, and gas consumption will account
for 52% of total primary consumption in the Basque Autonomous
Community. That’s what I call dependence! There is nothing like it
in any other developed country in the world. In 2007, the only states
with a higher share were Uzbekistan, Qatar, Turkmenistan, Bangladesh,
Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Azerbaijan,
Russia, Iran and Argentina5. Are these the countries we should be
modelling ourselves upon? In the European Union natural gas consumption
stands at 24.9% and in the OECD at 23.7%.
The Basque Government says that thanks to the massive increase
in combined cycle plants “the electricity generated in
the Basque Autonomous Community would be enough to cover
[all its electricity demands] – that is to say, it would reach selfsufficiency”
6. But the Basque Government forgets to specify that the gas burned in the power stations
is imported. There is therefore
no such self-sufficiency at all in
electricity generation.
Even more seriously, the Basque
Autonomous Community Government
uses the consumption of
natural gas – by promoting its use –
the better to reach targets related
to the production of energy and sustainable
consumption, and to disguise
the fact that they have not
been reached. Objective M2.6 of
the Basque Government’s 2nd Environmental
Programme states the
following7: “To ensure that 29% of energy consumption comes from
renewable sources and from cogeneration [in 2010]” (it seems that
in 2005 this share was 16%). In the chapter dealing with the 5th strategic
objective, the one which concerns fostering sustainable
energy production and consumption, a connection is drawn between
production from renewable sources and cogeneration. But
76.6% of the fuel used in cogeneration in 2007 was natural gas,
10.7% came from petroleum derivatives and only 13% from renewable
sources. If we take into account only the cogeneration from
renewable sources, the percentage falls to 6.4%. How will it be possible
to reach 29% by 2010? If they try to reach this target by burning
natural gas, then the consumption will not be sustainable at
all. This kind of policy does not lead us towards sustainability.
In Nafarroa Garaia greater consideration has been given to renewable
energy sources than in the Basque Autonomous Community,
albeit because it has greater potential, but unfortunately
things are changing in Nafarroa Garaia8. While current wind-generated
power (936 MW in 2006) is greater than that of combined cycle
power stations (800 MW), the Government of Nafarroa Garaia
wants to reverse the situation and double the output of the combined
cycle power stations by 2010. If these plans came to fruition9,
production based on natural gas would outstrip wind-generated power
(1.6 GW) to the detriment of sustainability.
There is also great energy dependence in The North Basque
Country. Although hydroelectricity is important, photovoltaic
systems and solar thermal energy are used very little, far below
their potential. Explotation of biomass is also a potential future
resource in The North Basque Country, but it is essential to guarantee
sustainable models of exploitation. To this end, imported
models of agro-industrial exploitation must be avoided, focussing
instead on localised ecological agriculture, as these are completely
different approaches. In saying all this, we must not forget
the situation of the energy source which is most important
to people: that of agriculture and cattle farming – that is to say,
the food industry. We need look no further than the nearest supermarket
to see our dependence, growing all the time as farms
and farmhouses disappear.
However, the Basque Country's energy dependence is not
simply a question of natural resources – we are also hugely dependent
as far as energy infrastructure is concerned. This is especially
serious in the management of the electricity grid. As we all know,
it is impossible to store large quantities of electricity so it must be
possible to adjust the supply-demand ratio at any given moment.
This requires diligent monitoring of the network and precise planning
of the operations of all the power stations. The advent of windgenerated
electricity, which is on the increase every year, further
complicates the management of the grid, which across Europe is
carried out at a state level. In Spain for example, the CECOEL Electrical
Control Centre of the Red Eléctrica de España, S.A. (REE) company,
based near Madrid, is responsible for programming the thermoelectric
power stations. Every hour this centre sends out orders
regarding production levels to the power stations distributed
around the state. Non-regulable production from renewable sources,
mainly wind-generated power, is monitored from another REE
centre known as CECRE (Control Centre of Renewable Energies).
As there is a deregulated electricity market in Spain, decisions are
made on a daily basis – in a virtual market operated by the energy
market regulator, a company called OMEL (Operador del Mercado
Ibérico de Energía, S.A.) – as to which power stations will produce
what, and what the price of the electricity will be. The The North
Basque Country stands in a similar situation in relation to Paris. The
Basque Country does not have its own electricity grid; there are
two grids dependent upon France and Spain, and the electrical gap
between South and The North Basque Country is without any doubt
just as deep and as serious as the administrative one.
Our inability to manage the electricity grid completely conditions
the very limited energy self-sufficiency of the Basque
Country, and we must be extremely careful when comparing renewable
electricity production to consumption. In Nafarroa Garaia for example, wind-generated electricity is on paper equivalent
to half the amount of all electricity consumed; but this does
not mean that half of the energy consumed in Nafarroa Garaia is
wind-generated. In The South Basque Country, wind-generated
power and consumption are planned, programmed and managed
at a state level10. Today, electrical sovereignty is impossible in the
Basque Country. Even the management of the oil and natural gas
infrastructures depends on the state to a high degree. In the
energy infrastructure sector, the jurisdiction of the Basque Autonomous
Community and Nafarroa Garaia is limited to little more
than issuing licenses related to environmental matters and new
installations, as well as implementing the policies planned at state
level.
The Basque Country’s energy situation is serious. Dependence
upon fossil fuels is enormous in our society and for this reason
it is very important to promote the exploitation of renewable
energy sources. There are ways of making more of these:
biomass energy, photovoltaic electricity, solar thermal energy
for heat and hot water, and wind-generated electricity. But renewable
energies can not work miracles: the levels and patterns
of consumption in modern society – our society – are not sustainable.
In the Basque Autonomous Community for example, the
average annual rise in electricity consumption between 2001
and 2007 was 2.9%, and 4.4% in the transport sector. This tendency
must be reversed as it is unsustainable. The key to breaking
this dependence upon fossil fuels and facing up to the uncertainty
of climate change and energy scarcity is to make dramatic
reductions in energy consumption and to promote local
production. The authorities must promote and nurture consumption
and production patterns which lead us towards sustainable
development. We must increase the use of renewable
energies and all kinds of recycling, in order to reduce energy and
materials consumption. Moreover, society must try to meet the
demand for food and products through localised production, as
it is the only way of reducing the enormous amount of energy
used up by the transport sector. Unfortunately, the government
administrations are planning not to restrict the transportation
of goods in order to reduce energy consumption, but to promote
it by huge investment in infrastructure.
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Together with the analysis in the document Pdf a brief reportaje that serves of introduction to the subject.
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