The development plan sets out the ways in which this important energy source should be directed at the state level based on economic, social and defence issues and in accordance with nature conservation requirements. The upper limit on the mining of oil shale (20 million tonnes per year) was established taking into account the rapid growth in electricity consumption forecasted in the Development Plan for the Electricity Sector 2005–2015.
“Oil shale is Estonia’s national wealth and a strategic resource, thanks to which we are able to supply ourselves with the electricity we need,” said Minister of the Environment Jaanus Tamkivi. “It’s crucial that the state is able to direct its mining and use from the point of view of its own interests, and the development plan approved by the Riigikogu today will make that possible.”
Tamkivi stressed that the state is determined to ensure that oil shale as a resource lasts for as long as possible. “This means that both it and the natural resources that accompany it must be used in an economical way, producing as little negative environmental and social impact as possible,” he said, adding that the amendments to the draft which are currently under examination are mostly designed for the protection of the environment.
The Ministry of the Environment produced draft amendments to the Earth’s Crust and Sustainable Development Acts alongside the draft of the development plan which set out specific limits on the amount of oil shale that can be mined and the number of mining permits that can be issued. This is to avoid a repeat of the situation where permits for the mining of almost 24 million tonnes of oil shale per year had been issued by 2005, with applications for the mining of a further 26 million tonnes also having been received, and there being practically no legal basis for refusing to issue permits.
As the permits which have already been issued allow more than 20 million tonnes of oil shale to be mined, the ministry came to an agreement with mining companies for the reduction of these amounts by 3.75 million tonnes per year. The target set out in the development plan is that the upper limit on mining of oil shale will be 15 million tonnes per year by 2015.
The basis for the production of the development plan was the Long-Term Public Fuel and Energy Sector Development Plan until 2015. Involved in the development plan’s production with the Ministry of the Environment were the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Research. The working group behind the development plan was led by Anto Raukas from the Estonian Academy of Sciences, with representatives of the public and interest groups also involved. Produced at the same time as the draft was a strategic evaluation report on its environmental impact, compiled under the guidance of Valdur Lahtvee, MP and then director of the Tallinn branch of the Stockholm Environment Institute.
The draft development plan is available on the Ministry of the Environment’s website at http://www.envir.ee/232764.
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