Iðnaðarráðherra á fundi orkumálaráðherra ESB

Orkumálaráðherrar ESB sitja nú á óformlegum fundi í Åre, Svíþjóð, til að ræða græna hagkerfið og bætta orkunýtingu. Til fundarins er boðið ráðherrum EFTA ríkjanna. Iðnaðarráðherra, Katrín Júlíusdóttir, sækir fundinn fyrir hönd Íslands.

Í umræðunum um bætta orkunýtingu og þau sóknarfæri út úr efnahagssamdrættinum sem felast í umhverfis- og orkumálum lagði iðnaðarráðherra áherslu á tvennt:

Í fyrsta lagi að efla samstarf og rannsóknir á sviði jarðhita enda sameinuðu jarðvarmaver yfirleitt raforkuframleiðslu og hitaveitur og möguleikar á nýtingu væru víða í Evrópu. Auk þess mætti yfirfæra þekkingu til að efla uppbyggingu hitaveita sem Evrópusambandið leggur vaxandi áherslu á.

Í öðru lagi að ívilna fyrirtækjum sem vilja nýta ónýtta umframorku á borð við jarðgufu frá jarðhitaverum og fyrirtækjum sem velja sér staðsetningu gagngert til að nýta endurnýjanlega orku eða draga verulega úr orkuþörf, t.d. með minni kæliþörf.

Á morgun, föstudag, verður sameiginlegur fundur með umhverfisráðherrum ESB þar sem græna hagkerfið verður sérstaklega rætt.

Ávarp iðnaðarráðherra fylgir hér að neðan:

I would like to thank the Swedish Presidency for the invitation to this informal meeting and for preparing the excellent report that is a basis for our discussions. It is a honor for me to have the opportunity of addressing you here today. As you may know, the Government of Iceland has presented an application for membership in the EU and I hope that in a not to distant future we will have a regular seat at this table.

The European Union is performing a very important task. I am also please to note that the emphasis is very similar to the energy policy put foward by the government of Iceland, especially regarding the eco efficient economy as a whole.

I believe we can benefit greatly from the emphasis on energy efficiency. It has been our privilege in Iceland to enjoy abundance of renewable sources of energy. We must admit that this has not encouraged us to make energy efficiency a top priority. So while we might have something to contribute to the eco-efficient economy when it comes to energy production, we could gain from your experience in energy efficiency closer to the end user.

I would just like to mention two possible areas to consider for the second energy efficiency action plan.

The first is geothermal energy and the lessons we can learn from that. Geothermal energy potentials exist in numerous countries e.g. within the EU. Geothermal power plants are generally combined heat and power and thus very energy efficient. In low temperature fields the use is mainly for heating. Almost every house in Iceland is heated with geothermal district heating and we have experience in preventing heat loss even when pipelines cross highland areas for almost 50 km.

I believe we should put more emphasis on research and cooperation in this field and I believe we can make a positive contribution. Icelandic experts and companies are already engaged in geothermal projects all over the world also within the EU.

The second regards possible focused incentives for companies using surplus energy that wouldn´t otherwise be used or choosing locations based on energy efficiency. The prime example is surplus geothermal water that has already been used as steam to generate electricity and then in heat exchangers to provide hot water to district heating systems. The remaining steam can be used for diverse purposes: for producing biodiesel using algae, greenhouse cultivation or paper production.

Data farms or server centers are looking to locate in cooler climates using renewable energy and abundance of cold water to cut energy use significantly.

I believe we should consider further incentives or rewards for companies using such methods to increase energy efficiency.

In the near future energy solutions will be an important part of our support for innovation.

Svíþjóð 23.júlí 2009