Overview of the ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY 2010
By Oleg K. Temple, October 2010. Published in PRIME Match Magazine #40.
The 6th international exhibition on energy, energy efficiency, infrastructure and environmental technologies, ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY 2010 took place at the International Exhibition Centre in Riga on Ķīpsala October 14-17.
The event was organised by BT 1 partnered with the Latvian Ministry of Environment, Riga Energy Agency and the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The expo provided a comprehensive survey of cutting-edge green-tech and power conservation ideas, as well as exposed areas of structural weakness in the industry where kaizen or continuous improvement is the only way forward, such as quality control and wise usage of natural resources. Visitors left impressed by the main message of the event: the dire need to hasten the implantation of nascent energy efficiency methods and technologies into the mainstream industry.
| At the Energolukss stand we were welcomed by Juris Linde, the product manager of the company, who explained that Energolukss provides reserve power supply portable generators and power-stabilizing systems to factories and constructors. Energolukss produces low voltage distribution equipment, used for 0,4kV electric power distribution: from main switchboards to small distribution boards. International banks, leading Latvian IT and telecommunication providers and even the omnipotent Latvenergo JSC number among Energolukss' illustrious clientele. |  |
Energolukss also caters to individual households – mostly affected by a nature-induced power outage - Juris explained. In this niche, the company offers a vast spectrum of UPS power backup devices and switchboards that may be programmed to alert the client on four separate events, via SurePowerTM a GSM-based SMS service to ensure proper diagnosis and timely solutions. Aside from impetuous Mother Nature, modernized public safety legislation (that mandates edifices of public assembly such as stadiums, office complexes etc. to keep emergency power units on standby), is a significant force driving the reserve power industry.
Most products are available for rent or sale via the 24-hour hotline. The exhibition was also attended by Powerall.eu, Energolukss' online store, which showed off portable wind generators and other gadgets available for order in Latvia and Finland with imminent plans to bore into the Russian, UK, Swedish, Estonian and Lithuanian markets.
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At the NIBE corner we met with Dainis Valge of the Divine Heat Company and learned that since 2002 Divine Heat has installed close to 2 000 heat pumps in Latvia. As you may remember from Prime Match issue #36, NIBE is the market leader for domestic heating products in the Nordic counties, and its customers are mainly in the RMI sector (Renovation, Maintenance, Improvement) and the new housing market. However, during the economic downturn, increasingly clients have stemmed from public sectors such as schools, factories, municipal buildings and hotels stepping away from fossil fuel furnaces to clean, efficient and economical geothermal heat pumps. |
It makes perfect economic and ecological sense to upgrade, as the dwindling supply of fossil fuels can only lead up the slippery slope of perpetually rising prices, whereas geothermal energy is free, if one can effectively harness it and a ground-source heat pump is 2.5 times cheaper than the natural gas equivalent. When using coefficient of performance (COP) indicator, gas heaters have 85% efficiency, whereas heat pumps have 400%.
The main advantages with using this sort of heating products compared to others such as gas, oil and electricity are low maintenance and longevity. The system is very environmentally friendly, as there are no emissions other than the ones that come from the electricity used to run the system with no emission in the immediate surroundings. It is also possible to cool down buildings with the same system at low cost. A heat pump is built to last with a lifespan over 20 years, whereas the installation cost is recovered within 3-8 years.
Heat pumps may also be combined with existing gas, oil or wood burners. There are four types of heat pumps: surface collectors (about a meter below the surface, the installation requires a territory about three times larger than the area to be heated), ground water collector, lake collector and the vertical bore collector (placed in a shaft from 90 to 200 meters deep, ideal for transitioning from fossil-fuel based heating systems.
| Another interesting encounter was with Maris Sproga of The Latvian Energy Efficiency Association (LATEA), who told us that LATEA plays an active role encouraging measures that stimulate economy and deal with climate change, as well as stands for an integration of Latvian energy system into the EU. Member companies span the industries of construction, heating, production and renewable energy, many of whom are market leaders not just in Latvia, but in the EU as a whole (German REHAU, Danish DANFOSS). Ultimately, LATEA's vision is to become an umbrella organization for energy and energy efficiency related institutions. |  |
The association works closely with other NGOs and governmental instances (Ministry of Economics, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and is represented in all the working groups dealing with legislation of renewables, energy efficiency in buildings as well as climate change. LATEA is developing special energy efficiency measures and applicable quality criteria to help companies gain relevant certification and to set a standard of quality in energy efficiency in Latvia. The LATEA approach does not make distinctions between the importance of individual facets of energy conservation (such as insulation, CO2 emissions or heating), the association considers all factors in the field equally relevant and in dire need of clear-cut, contemporary standards. LATEA's focal areas are: quality, shift from fossil fuels to renewable sources, setting proper standards and keen supervision Maris told us.
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