Welcome to the conference “Scenarios for sustainable energy development of the Kaliningrad region as an integral part of the Baltic sea region” in Kaliningrad, Russia, 24-25 November 2010.
The conference is organised by the Information Office of the Nordic Council of Ministers in Kaliningrad in cooperation with the Government of the Kaliningrad region, Baltic Development Forum and BASREC.
The aim of the conference is to extend contacts and to present and discuss visions, scenarios and plans for sustainable energy supply development in the Kaliningrad region as a part of the Baltic Sea Region. As a result recommendations on coordinating long-term energy plans for the Kaliningrad region with the relative EU strategic energy plans in the Baltic Sea Region may be elaborated.
Among the participants will be representatives of public authorities, energy companies and system operators of the countries in the region, representatives of ENTSO-E, Eurelectric and other transnational organisations of the EU, energy traders, experts in energy supply, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency of the countries in the Baltic Sea Region.
Venue: Radisson Hotel, Kaliningrad, pl. Pobedy 10
Registration by 5 November 2010 via this electronic form.
BDF Contact Person: Project Manager Viktoria Nilsson, phone +45 60 21 85 78, vn@bdforum.org
Background
In December 2006 an Agreement on the uniting energy grids of Poland and Lithuania was signed in Vilnius. After the “energy bridge” between Poland and Lithuania is constructed, the Baltic Energy Ring will be fully completed including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Poland. At that time, the Baltic States proposed a plan of disconnecting their energy grids from the United Energy System of Russia and integrating them into energy system of continental Europe – ENTSO-E.
In the implementation of this project Kaliningrad energy system should be, due to the configuration of the electrical grid and generating equipment, synchronized with energy grids of the Baltic States and also integrated into ENTSO-E. However, energy system of the Kaliningrad region is not taken into account in the Rail Baltika project.
At the same time, participation of the Kaliningrad region in the provision of secure and sustainable energy supply of the region seems to be reasonable. In connection with this, attention should be attracted to possible involvement of the Kaliningrad energy system into the plans of the EU related to Rail Baltika project and take into account the energy balance of the Kaliningrad region in the Baltic Sea region’s energy balance.
BASREC (Baltic Sea Region Energy Cooperation – on the level of Deputy-Ministers of Energy of Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Finland) is the key forum for international cooperation in the area of electric power development in the Baltic Sea Region.
In order to strengthen the energy dialogue between Russia and EU BASREC, 10 – 11 June 2009 the Nordic Council of Ministers together with the Baltic Development Forum and the Union of the Baltic Cities with the support of the European Commission held a workshop “Energizing sustainable growth in the Baltic Sea Region”. Participants of the workshop among which were representatives of ministries, energy companies and institutions of the federal and regional levels, local authorities of the Kaliningrad region, scientists, business people, representatives of NGOs discussed the problems of strengthening cooperation in energy supply of the region, coordination of common energy strategies in the Baltic Sea Region. They got acquainted with R&D and best practices in the area of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, as well as involvement of business in solving energy problems.
The results of the study “Sustainable Energy Scenarios Energy Perspectives for the Baltic Sea Region: Setting an Agenda for the Future” initiated by the Baltic Development Forum, prepared by Ea Energy Analyses and co-financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, were first presented at the workshop. The report on the scenarios was considered as a basis for enhanced energy cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region.