Marius Valukynas: the boilers are worn out – how will we keep heating? | Business

This means that Lithuania can confidently plan the development of its heat sector and not be afraid of external factors. With that, we have become an example for the whole of Europe, but there are plenty of challenges – first of all, the renovation of thermal power plants.

The energy independence based on the use of biofuel allowed Lithuania to boldly refuse the import of Russian gas and thus make a significant contribution to the sanctions against the aggressor country. The use of local raw materials for heat production also strengthens the Lithuanian economy – which means jobs are created in the country and taxes supplement the budget.

However, sometimes it seems that our officials see only two renewable energy sources – solar and wind – and simply ignore biomass. Such an impression is created by looking at what the European Union (EU) support, which is administered by the Ministry of Energy, has been allocated to in the last few years.

Almost all of the support went to domestic consumers and went to the solar and wind energy sectors, while it remained so small for the biofuels sector that heat suppliers simply did not apply for it.

Biomass is a renewable resource. No matter how fashionable it is to promote other heating methods, it must be recognized that Lithuania does not have any other heating alternatives.

In public discussions, both scientists and specialists are unanimous – for the next twenty years, Lithuania will use biofuel for heating, which is both a local raw material and several times cheaper than gas. By the way, it is not a renewable source and would make our heat economy dependent on suppliers of this raw material from abroad.

Why did I mention gas? Because without allocating funds for the renewal of biofuel boilers, we would have to switch to using gas for heat production again. Colleagues from the Lithuanian Heat Suppliers Association (LŠTA) are already ringing the alarm bells – some of the boilers used for heat production are almost in emergency condition. Many of these boilers have already exhausted their operational resources and must be renewed.

According to LŠTA’s calculations, about 50 million should have been allocated for this already this year. euros. There are no plans to allocate funds from EU funds for the renewal of biofuel boilers. Predicting the future is not difficult – it is the same as driving an old car, which the further it goes, the more often it needs service until it is no longer worth repairing. If funds are not allocated for the renewal of biofuel boilers, heat will inevitably become more expensive, as repair costs will increase every year. What then?

We do not have other technological solutions for producing heat, wind and solar energy capacities are too small to produce a sufficient amount of heat in Lithuania. Then the only option left would be to go back to burning gas. But this would also be a huge step back – from energy independence to dependence on foreign raw material suppliers, from the use of renewable resources – to the use of fossil fuels.

The saddest thing is that our officials do not even notice this problem, and our warnings are like a cry in the wilderness. We must understand that the renewal of biofuel boilers will take many years.

There are other paradoxes – the EU allocates funds for the development of renewable energy resources, but the officials of the Ministries of Economy and Innovation and Energy who distribute this support simply ignore the biofuel sector.

A paradoxical situation arises. Everything is fine in the national development documents – we declare that by 2030 the share of renewable resources in energy production must reach 90 percent. But at the same time, we turn a blind eye to the threat of the sector collapsing if the boilers are not renewed. Sometimes this position of officials becomes similar to sabotage.

In Lithuania, the heating season lasts half a year. Probably, even a person who has not tasted energy sciences understands that during that cold half-year we will definitely not produce heat from the sun and wind alone.

The authorities’ argument that EU support should not be allocated to the modernization of the heat industry, as if it should be the concern of the heat supplying companies themselves, also does not stand up to criticism. We have to admit that some heat supply companies are currently simply not financially capable of modernizing boilers with borrowed funds.