SalvaEco

The four groups are led by Energias de Portugal (EDP), local energy company Galp Energia, Spain’s Iberdrola and Gamesa and Italy’s Enel.

"Four groups of companies presented proposals," said Manuela Fonseca, an official at the economy ministry’s geology and energy department.

The two-phase project should generate 1,500 megawatts of wind power.

EDP estimated it would invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.55 billion) in an industrial plant if it wins the government auction for the wind power project.

"We are talking about an investment of about 1.3 billion euros that would create about 1,200 new jobs," an EDP spokesman said. EDP and its partners would create an industrial site in northern Portugal which would make equipment for the windmills, such as turbines, the spokesman said.

Galp Energia promised 1.035 billion euros in investments, it said in a statement. Galp’s consortium includes Enersis, a wind power company bought by Australian investment group Babcock & Brown last year.

Bidders had until 5 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Wednesday to present their bids to Portugal’s government, which should decide the winner by the summer.

750,000 HOMES
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The project will provide enough power for about 750,000 homes and is equal to about a quarter of the wind energy capacity installed last year in the 25-nation European Union, according to figures from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

The nation of 10 million people imports about 86 percent of its power, one of the highest levels in Europe, and is aiming to harness winds off the Atlantic Ocean and other renewable sources to counter rising fuel costs.

Portugal is also looking to wind to help meet its goals under the United Nations’ Kyoto Protocol, which aims to cut output of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that are blamed for global warming.

Portugal’s emissions surged almost 37 percent from 1990 to 2003, the third-highest increase in the world, according to UN figures.

The project calls for a first phase of 1,000 megawatts of capacity and a second of 500 megawatts. The winner is expected to be announced during the summer.

Presedintele Organizatiei Teritoriale Chisnau a Miscarii Ecologiste din Republica Moldova, Vladimir Garaba, a declarat miercuri, intr-o conferinta de presa, ca pentru construirea magazinului Metro, Guvernul a atribuit un lot de pamant cu suprafata de 4,35 hectare, care apartinea primariei orasului Stauceni.

"Selecatrea si atribuirea acestor terenuri companiei "Metro Cash & Carry" au avut loc fara consultarea publicului, cum prevede legislatia nationala si internationala. Potrivit Codului Funciar, Guvernul nu era in drept sa scoata din circuitul agricol aceste terenuri care au o bontitate destul de mare. Totodata, lucrarile de constructie a magazinului au inceput fara o expertiza ecologica necesara, iar decopertarea si depozitarea stratului fertil de sol s-a facut fara vreun proiect special si in lipsa unui contsrol din partea institutiilor de mediu. Din acest motiv, solul extrem de fertil a fost aruncat la intamplare, in preajma drumurilor, in rapi, la gunoisti", a spus Garaba.

Ecologistii independenti solicita sistarea activitatilor megazinului Metro pana la indeplinirea cerintelor legislative, in caz contrar vor atentiona Comisia pentru Ecologie a Uniunii Europene despre incalcarile mentionate.

Pe de alta parte, solicitat de BASA-press, Dusan Wilms, manager general al Metro Cash & Carry pentru Romania si Republica Moldova a declarat ca intrepridnerea a respectat toate normele in vigoare la constructia magazinului. "O companie de talia Metro nici nu poate incepe afacerea pana nu are documentele in ordine, iar structurile de resort pot solicita pachetul de acte necesare pentru a se convinge de acest lucru", a spus Dusan Wilms.

Lotul de pamant a fost atribuit companiei Metro Cash & Carry printr-o hotarare de Guvern. Oficiali de la Guvern nu au comentat acuzatiile aduse de catre ecologisti.

Metro Cash & Carry Chisinau este amplasat pe o suprafata de circa 70 mii metri patrati, in localitatea Stauceni din preajma Chisinaului. Magazinul contine o sectie pentru produse alimentare si una pentru produse nealimentare, iar constructia acestuia a durat cinci luni. R.Moldova este a 27-a tara unde este prezenta Metro Cash & Carry International.

Aceasta manifestare este a treia dintr-o serie de zece dezbateri care se vor organiza pe parcursul anului universitar 2004-2005, in cadrul proiectului de instruire si constientizare publica Ecostud.

Se vor aborda probleme legate de infrastructura si tehnologii, tendinte si previziuni, impactul pe termen scurt si mediu, riscuri si accidente.

Programul prevede discutarea unor aspecte concrete legate de investitiile din sectorul de transport din Romania.

Proiectul Ecostud isi propune ca, printr-un parteneriat ce ofera forta si reprezentativitate la nivel national cu ONG-uri, universitati, institute de cercetare, asociatii profesionale si patronale, publicatii, sa contribuie la constientizarea si instruirea tinerei generatii referitor la necesitatea unei dezvoltari durabile a societatii romanesti cu respectarea conditiilor de protectie a mediului. Dezbaterile au ca scop concretizarea unor recomandari despre subiectele protectiei mediului care vor sta la baza unor initiative viitoare in domeniu/ROMPRES/

Rolul agriculturii ecologice in dezvoltarea durabila a comunitatilor, agentilor economici ?i reducerii poluarii cu nutrienti a bazinelor acvatice, Calitatea produselor alimentare- cheia spre pie?ele straine sunt rapoartele de baza, ce vor fi prezentate de catre expertii Boris Boincean, directorul Institutului CCC Slectia ?i Sergiu Croitoru, Director General SGS Moldova.

La seminar vor participa 30 de specialisti ai directiilor agricole, agentilor economici din agricultura fermieri, lideri de ONG-uri, mass-media din regiunea de nord a republicii Moldova.

Informatii suplimentare si inscrierea doritorilor la seminar la tel: (259) 23327, 22851 sau Email: [email]veco@rambler.ru[/email], Vitalie Cimpoies, director executiv al ONG-ului CUTEZ?TORUL.

Putin’s powerful call put energy security firmly at the centre of the agenda for Russia’s presidency this year of the Group of Eight industrialised nations.

It also served to deflect Western criticism of Russia’s democratic record and offset damaging publicity linked to January’s dispute with Ukraine over the price of Russian gas, which disrupted supplies to Europe.

"Instability in hydrocarbon markets poses today a real threat to global energy supply. The gap between supply and demand is widening," Putin said in a 1,700-word text issued by the Kremlin.

"We will strive to form a system of energy security which will take into account the interests of the whole world."

Striking a statesmanlike note, Putin warned that world leaders had a duty to work out a strategy to end instability over energy supplies or else generations to come would suffer.

A stable energy policy should reflect broad international interests, not just those of wealthy nations, he argued.

"Energy egotism is the road to nowhere," Putin said. "We are duty bound to leave for those who follow us a world energy ‘architecture’ which will protect them from conflicts, from unconstructive forms of struggle over energy supply."

Putin will host US President George W Bush and other G8 leaders at a summit in his home town of St. Petersburg in July to crown Russia’s first stint chairing the rich nations’ group.

Russia took over the rotating presidency of the club, which includes the United States, Japan,?Canada, Germany, France, Britain and Italy, at the start of the year.

It was formally invited to join the grouping in 1998 to cement its transition from communism to democracy.

Some other G8 members still do not consider Russia an equal, however, pointing to what they see as flaws in its record on democracy. Despite its oil and gas riches, Russia also went to the brink of financial ruin and debt default in the late 1990s.

STRONG MESSAGE

Putin’s strong message, widely aired in Russian media and carried by several newspapers in the West, underscored Russia’s role as an energy superpower.

Russia is the second largest oil exporter and has the biggest reserves of gas in the world, supplying about 25 percent of Europe’s gas needs.

But it was criticised by other G8 countries early this year when a row with Ukraine led it to shut off gas supplies to its neighbour.

Since the bulk of Russian gas supplies to Europe are carried across Ukraine, the dispute prompted questions within the European Union over Moscow’s reliability as a supplier, although few real alternatives exist.

Kremlin officials see the G8 presidency as an affirmation of Russia’s renewed geopolitical clout after the chaos of the 1990s and the fall of the Soviet Union.

The president himself has said critics must accept that Russia, flush with oil cash and undergoing an economic boom, is a dynamic player in the world economy.

Putin, who must step down in 2008 at the end of his second four-year term in office, is keen to play the global statesman and underline that Russia is still at the top table of world politics on questions of energy.

With oil prices at more than $60 a barrel, oil traders are riding the biggest bull market since prices soared to records, in real terms, after the 1979 Iranian revolution.

That is a concern for major oil consumers, such the United States, China, the European Union and Japan, though it boosts revenues for top exporters Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Other items on the G8 2006 agenda fixed by Russia are fighting infectious diseases and education.

Putin said Russia would press for an operational plan to fight avian flu and "avert a new pandemic of human influenza."

Protocolul de colaborare se va termina in ziua de 7 decembrie, iar proiectul va fi inaintat pentru aprobare la Comisia Europeana. Valoarea estimata a proiectului este de 500.000 euro. Reteaua de situri trebuie sa includa 24 de arii protejate din 3 judete (Brasov, Covasna, Harghita). Specialistii romani din institutiile implicate in demararea proiectului vor inventaria (daca proiectul va primi finantare externa) speciile de fauna si flora inscrise in Directia CE – "Habitat si Pasari", in acelasi timp se va realiza o lista-anexa a speciilor endemice neinscrise in directiva, dar pentru care Romania solicita inscrierea acestora in patrimoniul natural universal. Daca proiectul va fi aprobat, actiunea in teren va demara in septembrie 2005 si se va finaliza in 2008.

Ministrul a precizat insa ca, in urma negocierilor, Romania a solicitat si obtinut, pe ansamblu, perioade de gratie in vederea conformarii la cerintele UE cuprinse in 11 directive. Perioadele de tranzitie solicitate de Romania difera, cea mai lunga (pana in 2018) vizand directiva in privinta managementului apelor uzate.

Potrivit lui Ianculescu, Romania a primit cel mai mare numar de perioade de tranzitie dintre toate statele candidate, pe locul doi clasandu-se Polonia, cu 10 directive, in vreme ce Bulgaria a primit doar opt astfel de termene de gratie.

In cazul termocentralelor, spre exemplu, in urma discutiilor cu administratorii lor, oficialii Ministerului Mediului au cerut perioade de gratie pana la 31 decembrie 2013 pentru 120 din cele 174 de astfel de unitati, alte sase termocentrale urmand a se conforma normelor de mediu in perioada 2016-2017.

Restul institutiilor nu au solicitat perioade de tranzitie, ceea ce inseamna – potrivit oficialilor ministerului – ca se obliga sa indeplineasca, pana la data aderarii, normele de mediu impuse de UE, in caz contrar urmand a fi inchise, iar proprietarii sanctionati.

De asemenea, au fost obtinute derogari pentru 34 de termocentrale, care vor putea functiona maximum 20.000 de ore in perioada 2008-2015.

Un proces similar a avut loc si in ceea ce priveste depozitele de deseuri. "Pentru asigurarea respectarii cerintelor europene specifice depozitarii deseurilor, din cele 265 de depozite municipale inventariate s-au obtinut perioade de tranzitie etapizate pentru 101 depozite din zona urbana, ultimul termen fiind 16 iulie 2017", a declarat Ianculescu.

Costurile totale pentru implementarea intregului acquis comunitar privind mediul au fost estimate la aproximativ 29,3 miliarde de euro, pentru perioada 2004-2018.

Yet the company can count itself lucky.

Even with further project delays and cost increases possible, it is making steady progress on Sakhalin 2, one of only two developments underway in a region officials say holds more crude oil and natural gas than Europe’s North Sea.

A jetty stretching into the icy waters off Russia’s far east coast looks forlorn but is a footstep of progress made by Shell, as it tries to challenge nature to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries enamoured with the clean fuel.

By summer 2008, LNG will start flowing from the jetty on tankers heading around the Pacific, relieving energy markets stretched by surging gas demand for residential and industrial use from Asian and US consumers.

The Anglo-Dutch oil major and its partners, Japan’s Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corp, missed an initial November 2007 target for the first LNG shipment from Sakhalin 2 by six months because of ecological obstacles and repeated postponements by Russian authorities over expenditure.

Project costs have doubled to $20 billion.

And there may still be a risk of further delays, though the world’s largest LNG project is progressing at the quickest pace out of nine energy projects in Sakhalin.

"The project is just over 60 percent complete at the moment," Sakhalin Energy’s chief executive Ian Craig said.

Shell plans to start year-round crude oil production in 2007, Craig said. Its oil production is now suspended for about six months in the year because of drift ice shutting ports.

Sakhalin 2 consists of gigantic offshore platforms, oil and gas pipelines with a total length of 800 kilometres (497 miles), as well as terminals with two LNG trains that chill natural gas to a liquid form for transport.

FROZEN BEAUTY

Sakhalin, an island about the size of Scotland, has a population of around 53,000 and holds an estimated 45 billion barrels equivalent of recoverable oil and gas reserves.

But the biggest challenge is the island’s harsh if beautiful natural environment.

In addition to frigid weather that sees temperatures plunge to minus 30 degrees Celsius on winter nights, the land has numerous seismic faults as part of the Pacific’s rim of fire.

Pipeline crossing points at active faults at the southern part were still under design, engineer Samar Slim told Reuters.

He has to use the costly technique of horizontal drilling to avoid damaging rivers where salmon come to lay eggs in summer.

"It is a lot more expensive than normal methods (to build pipelines). In my understanding, 10 times more," Slim said.

The dark waters of the Sea of Okhotsk provide a rich marine environment, harbouring feeding grounds for the endangered Western Grey Whale environmentalists fear has been disrupted by the project.

Shell says it is working to safeguard the species, with Sakhalin Energy spending about $7 million on whale research from 1997 to 2005 and agreeing last year to reroute offshore pipelines.

Humans are also an endangered species on Sakhalin.

Construction workers at Sakhalin 2’s Prigorodnoye terminal in the south, where the two giant LNG trains reside, are bundled up in padded clothes like skiers to protect their bodies from heavy snow, only their frost-crusted eyes visible from outside.

The workers have to warm up machinery parts?in tents – not to mention themselves – before putting them into action, a practice hardly necessary in warmer energy producers such as Saudi Arabia, and one adding to the project’s time and cost.

"Usually, it takes about 36 months to complete construction works of this kind of facility. But here in Sakhalin, the first train takes 51 months," said Frank Fletcher, project manager at the plant.

The jetty, chilled by wind from Aniva Bay and still not connected to land like England’s fire-wrecked old Brighton pier, is still waiting for spring and the return of more workers, whose numbers rise from 6,000 in winter to 8,000 in summer.

Up to 5,000 construction workers live in a camp just next to the plant. The main office’s walls are full of cautious advice: "Drugs don’t relax you. It kills you… Alcohol doesn’t build friendship, it destroys it… Safe sex, or no sex."

STILL AHEAD

Shell has sold about 75 percent of its planned 9.6 million tonnes a year of LNG from Sakhalin 2 on long-term supply contracts to Japan, South Korea and the US West Coast.

But Sakhalin 2 is only developing about 10 percent of the area’s resources and Shell is not the only one eyeing the riches.

Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom is negotiating with Shell to take 25 percent of Sakhalin 2.

There are eight other new energy projects, including Sakhalin 1 led by US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp.

Sakhalin 1 started commercial crude oil production in October, but Exxon has not begun to build gas facilities since it first needs a buyer; unlike Shell it plans to transfer gas from Sakhalin 1 to a single customer, possibly China, via a pipeline.

Exxon had hoped to develop Sakhalin 3, under a previous deal scrapped by the government. The field is expected to be auctioned later this year.

"The rest of the projects just have numbers," an industry official said.

Este vorba de un proiect european in valoare de 1,5 milioane de euro care are drept scop gestionarea durabila a deseurilor menajere din cea mai mare zona umeda din Europa si din tara noastra, care este Delta Dunarii. Initiatorii acestui proiect incearca pentru inceput gasirea unor formule viabile de colectare si de prelucrare pe plan local a deseurilor din zona centrala a Deltei Dunarii. Este vorba de zona Crisan-Mila 23, zona cu cel mai mare potential turistic din intreaga Delta a Dunarii, dar si cea mai poluata parte a Deltei din cauza presiunii turistice de aici. Trebuie spus ca initiatorul acestui proiect este Asociatia Salvati Delta si Dunarea, care a reusit sa atraga rapid la implementarea acestui program ambitios atat Ministerul Mediului, cat si ARBDD si administratia judeteana din Tulcea. Fondurile pentru realizarea acestui proiect urmeaza sa fie asigurate in mod egal de Uniunea Europeana, 750.000 de euro, si de autoritatile din Romania asociate la respectivul proiect, aceeasi suma. Astfel, Ministerul Mediului si ARBDD ar urma sa contribuie cu cate 250.000 de euro, Asociatia Salvati Delta si Dunarea cu 175.000 de euro, iar Consiliul Judetean Tulcea cu 75.000 de euro. Proiectul ar urma sa fie aplicat din anul urmator si apoi sa fie multiplicat, in functie de rezultatele obtinute, la nivelul intregii Delte.

Ministrul mediului, care a prezentat rezultatele obtinute la inchiderea celei de a doua parti a negocierilor Capitolului de Mediu, mult mai complicata decat prima parte, a precizat ca perioadele de tranzitie acceptate pentru Romania sunt in deplina concordanta cu solicitarile si evaluarile financiare realizate impreuna cu toate institutiile implicate si agentii economici care se afla sub incidenta acestor prevederi.

Speranta Ianculescu a explicat ca documentele Romaniei au fost bine intocmite si a fost justificat tot ceea ce s-a cerut. Documentul de pozitie al Romaniei la Capitolul de Mediu a cantarit 16 kg si a fost facuta cate o "teza de doctorat" pentru fiecare directiva in parte.

"Trebuie sa fim insa extrem de atenti si fermi – a subliniat ministrul – pentru a ne respecta angajamentele. Am obtinut increderea oficialilor UE si daca nu ne vom respecta angajamentele, pe langa amenzile cu care statul roman va fi sanctionat, vom pierde credibilitatea obtinuta prin eforturi deosebite’.

Romania a obtinut, in total, la Capitolul de Mediu, 11 perioade de tranzitie, in timp ce Bulgaria a obtinut numai opt. La Directiva privind deseurile, Romania a obtinut perioada de tranzitie pana in anul 2016, iar Bulgaria pana in 2014, la transportul deseurilor Romania – 2015, Bulgaria – 2009, in domeniul apelor uzate Romania – 2018, Bulgaria 2014, la instalatiile mari de ardere Romania – 2017, Bulgaria – 2014.

Directivele pentru care Romania a solicitat si a obtinut perioade de tranzitie in a doua etapa a negocierilor la Capitolul de Mediu vizeaza epurarea apelor uzate municipale, calitatea apei destinate consumului uman, prevenirea si controlul poluarii, limitarea emisiilor in atmosfera de la termocentrale, depozitarea deseurilor si supravegherea transportului deseurilor.

Costurile totale pentru implementarea intregului acquis de mediu sunt estimate la 29,3 miliarde euro pentru perioada 2004-2018, din care 5,4 miliarde euro de la Bugetul de stat, 9,9 miliarde euro din fonduri comunitare, 7,8 miliarde euro de la agentii economici si 6,2 miliarde euro din alte surse./ROMPRES/