An alternative to the new Ignalina?

It seems the problem of replacing Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is very much on the mind of Andris Piebalgs, the European Commissioner for energy.  Ignalina is  due to close its final unit at the end of 2009 but was recently the subject of a referendum during the election in Lithuania to delay its closure.  The closure was agreed around 2003, with the first unit already closed in 2005, so it is not as if the closure of the second unit comes with no warning.  The nuclear lobby in Lithuania is very keen to have a replacement, but unfortunately economics dictate that it must supply other countries as well and nobody else is keen to cough up with the rather uncertain costs of nuclear at the moment. 

Of course there are perfectly good alternatives available including an existing power plant running on gas, but when the gas comes from Russia, that doesn't seem a reliable solution.

But it was a bit of a surprise to read about alternative method of meeting Lithuania's electricity demand here.

At the meeting of the Ecodesign Regulatory Committee today, EU Member States endorsed the European Commission's proposal for a regulation aimed at improving the energy performance of external power supplies. The regulation is expected to cut the EU's electricity consumption of these devices by 30% by 2020, compared to a "business as usual" scenario.

This fourth measure under the Ecodesign Directive will drastically improve the energy performance of external power supplies, which everybody is using together with many household and office products. It is a concrete contribution to reach the EU's energy efficiency and climate protection targets, while saving citizens' money", said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

An external power supply (EPS) is the device that converts power input from the mains power source into lower voltage output for household and office products such as mobile and cordless phones, notebook computers, modems etc. With the energy efficiency standards approved today, the electricity losses related to external power supplies will be reduced in the EU by 9 TWh, that is approximately 30%, by 2020, compared to a "business as usual" scenario. The savings are equal to Lithuania's yearly electricity consumption and would lead to approximately 3.2 Mt CO2 emission savings per year. Further savings are expected in other parts of the world as well as an indirect impact of this measure, since external power supplies are sold and used worldwide.

So other countries please note: remember to disconnect your chargers now (no need to wait for the new ones) and do your bit for Lithuania.


Technorati Tags: Lithuania, energy efficiency, Ignalina