STUDY THE ENERGY SYSTEM OF THE AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY.

by Blanco Gabilondo, Maitane

This paper analyzes the energy system of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The aim of study is to analyze the current situation in the energy field of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, which is a region of the north of Spain with a problem of energy dependency. 95% of the energy consumed in the region comes from out the borders, which is among the highest rates of the European Union. Therefore, based on gathered information an energy survey of the region has been made, to understand the in and outs of the system, to know which are the energy flows of the region. In 2007 the energy available for gross inland consumption was 7 774 ktoe, where 40.6% comes from petroleum and 39.2% from natural gas. In other words, it is a system characterized by a high consumption of fossil fuels. Renewable energy plays an important role in every future energy scenario of every country, also in the Basque energy system. Hence current situation is analyzed to get a general idea of the situation of them in the system. Renewable energy is only 5.1% of the energy available for gross inland consumption and thus there is still a lot of work to do with it. Waste treatment has been analyzed as the key for comfort in modern society, but also a problem that every region has to face. The amounts of waste generated in 2005 was 1 165 799 tones, which is the equivalent of 545.6 kg per capita and it is increasing every year. The waste treatment facilities are now in a crossroad in the region and it is there where the proposal takes place. Landfilling is not an affordable option in a small region with high population density like the autonomous community of the Basque Country. As waste can be used as a fuel in power plants, why do not take advantage of both problems? Then, two new incineration plants like the one that already exist in the region are proposed. The new installations will replace 88 000 toe per year of primary energy and reduce the emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere 880 000 t per year. The conclusion that could be drawn from this study is that the proposal is not going to give an answer to all the problems of the energy system, but it will be clearly a good step forward. It will solve at the same time the problem of energy dependency, reducing it to 93.47%, and the problem of waste treatment facilities.