Title: Some issues related to the energy sources in the Czech Republic
First author:
Pavel Kavina, Mgr. Ph.D.
Order of authors:
Pavel Kavina, Mgr. Ph.D.; Jakub Jirásek, Ing. PhD.; Martin Sivek, prof. Ing. CSc.
Affiliations of authors:
Pavel Kavina
Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Department of Raw Materials
and Energy Policy, Na Františku 32, Praha 1, 110 15, Czech Republic
Jakub Jirásek & Martin Sivek
Vysoká škola báňská – Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Mining and
Geology, 17. listopadu 15/2172, Ostrava-Poruba, 708 33, Czech Republic
Corresponding author:
Jakub Jirásek, Ing. Ph.D.
Corresponding author's institution:
Vysoká škola báňská – Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Mining and
Geology, 17. listopadu 15/2172, Ostrava-Poruba, 708 33, Czech Republic
e-mail: jakub.jirasek@vsb.cz
phone: +420 596 993 502
fax.: +420 596 918 589
Abstract:
Although the Czech Republic is a relatively small country it is faced with the
problem of balancing energy production against the available resources of energyproducing raw materials. The Czech Republic is atypical of the EU countries because
it is one of only a few countries that presently exports electric energy and, at the
same time, is still producing uranium ores. Resources of all the essential energyproducing raw materials exist in the Czech Republic, though, temporarily, only
brown coal and bituminous coal reserves cover the immediate needs of energy
production, while uranium ores are sufficient to satisfy the demands for a long period
in the future. This paper provides data on the deposits of raw materials useful for
energy production in the Czech Republic and their lifetimes, as well as the
proportions of different energy sources.
Keywords: Energy policy; Energy sources; Czech Republic
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1. Introduction
Data on production and utilization of energy-producing raw materials in the
Czech Republic are available in numerous published papers. Most of them are
written only in Czech and many of them summarize information taken from other
sources. Therefore, we decided to compile an updated study dealing with this issue in
English. It is based on primary data (statistics and records of production, etc.), which
will serve as a useful reference for experts concerned with the wider issues of energy
sources and supply in Europe and elsewhere.
This paper is not intended to provide detailed data on deposits of fossil fuels.
For this reason only important deposits of raw materials for energy production are
discussed without references to relevant papers dealing with the subject. More
detailed information is being prepared.
The geological makeup of the Czech Republic indicates that sources of
energy-producing raw materials in the territory are rather limited. They include
bituminous coal, brown coal, crude oil and natural gas. Of these, only the brown coal
reserves are large enough temporarily to satisfy the demands of Czech industry.
Similarly, the domestic production of bituminous coal supplies local consumption.
However, bituminous coal is also imported, mostly from Poland, but the majority of
the black coal produced is exported. The situation with crude oil and natural gas is
quite different because the consumption of locally produced oil is almost negligible.
At present this supplies ca 3-5 % of the demand. The proportion of natural gas
consumed is even smaller. The nearly complete dependence on imports of crude oil
and natural gas has a detrimental effect on the Czech import-export balance.
Uranium is also classed among energy-producing raw materials. For decades the
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Czech Republic was one of the major world producers of uranium, although mine
production has been progressively reduced during the last 20 years. However, the
present high prices of this metal on the world market have initiated a change in this
trend.
The inventory of mineral resources available to a country directly influences
the mineral and energy policies of the state. Using the Czech Republic as an
example, the authors have tried to demonstrate the role of the supply of mineral raw
materials in determining the energy policy of the country. This has become one of
the most sensitive political and environmental issues at the onset of the third
millennium.
2. Inventory of deposits of energy-producing raw materials in the Czech
Republic
Deposits of all raw materials essential for energy production (brown coal,
bituminous coal, crude oil, natural gas and uranium) are extracted within the territory
of the Czech Republic. However, their relative contributions to the national energy
balance are quite different. These differences can best be demonstrated by the
relationship between annual production of individual fuels and minerals and their
consumption (Tab. 1). The so-called apparent consumption is defined by the formula
AC = (domestic production + imports) – exports.
The table shows that the demands for bituminous coal and brown coal in the
Czech Republic are satisfied, and the demand for uranium ores is partly met. The
production of crude oil and natural gas is negligible with respect to the total
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consumption in the Czech Republic, so the country is completely reliant on imports
of these commodities.
The energy policy of the country is determined by predictions of future
demand for individual energy-producing raw materials and how these will be
supplied. The volume and quality of the domestic reserves of raw materials used for
energy production, and the lifetime and economic viability of their individual
deposits is a crucial factor in shaping this policy (State Energy Conception, 2004). A
complex range of geological, technical and economic factors must be assessed when
predicting the lifetime of a deposit. The current output of minerals, losses during
mining operations and also the registered reserves of individual minerals and fossil
fuels, including inferred resources, must all be taken into account. The lifetime of
economic reserves (economic explored free reserves) and the so-called extractable
reserves derived from and taking into account their depreciation through extraction,
including the loss of registered mineral deposits in 2007 (variant A), and also
deduced from the annual mean depreciation of reserves during the period 2003 –
2007 (variant B) are summarized in Tab. 2.
The lifetimes given in Table 2, as stated above, are based on the current
annual productions, not on the annual demands for the respective mineral commodity
in the economy of the Czech Republic. Consequently, only the lifetimes of
bituminous coal and brown coal deposits, the production of which fully covers the
demands of the Czech Republic, represent real values for a given period of time. The
data in Table 2 also show the differences in the lifetime of deposits calculated on the
basis of economic reserves and of extractable reserves. Moreover, in the case of
uranium ores, natural gas and crude oil, the lifetimes are affected by the methods
used for their calculation. The lifetimes of deposits of the latter two mineral
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commodities are based on current rates of production, which are negligible in
relation to the demands of the Czech Republic. In contrast, the lifetime of uranium
deposits is influenced by their classification, which does not take into account the
trends in the price of this commodity on world markets or the fact that, due to a long
period of decline in the uranium mining industry, no exploration for this metal has
been carried out recently. The increase in prices of uranium should result in the
growth of uranium reserves and subsequently in longer lifetimes for its deposits.
Notwithstanding the technical factors governing the classification and lifetime of
reserves of energy-producing raw materials, it can be concluded that only deposits of
bituminous coal, brown coal and /or uranium ores are important in the energy
balance of the Czech Republic.
When making predictions about the capacity of resources within the Czech
Republic to supply the energy-producing raw materials to satisfy future demands, it
is also necessary to consider the potential for discovery of new deposits within Czech
territory. It is difficult to imagine that new discoveries of bituminous coal and brown
coal will be made because the basins have been fully explored. In the case of crude
oil and natural gas and/or uranium, the discovery of new deposits cannot be
excluded, but if such deposits are discovered they are likely to be of small size.
However, it should be noted that the volume of reserves of these commodities
registered in the state balance are much more sensitive to administrative
interventions and changes in the procedures for assessment and classification (e.g.,
due to re-evaluation of existing reserves taking into account the increase in prices on
world markets, etc.) than to additions by discovery of new deposits.
The raw materials used for energy production in the Czech Republic are
presently extracted from the following deposits (Fig. 1):
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2.1 Bituminous coal
This coal is mined exclusively in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Dopita et al.,
1997). The smaller part of this Carboniferous basin lies in the Czech Republic (ca
1550 km2), while the larger part lies in neighboring Poland (ca 5500 km2). Boiler and
coking coals of varying rank (degree of coalification) are mined in this basin (Sivek
et al., 2003). The coal is extracted from underground mines. Most of the coal beds
are confined to the Karviná Formation of which the extracted thickness varies from
1.0 up to 6.5 m. A smaller proportion of local coal is extracted from the older
Ostrava Formation in which the thickness of seams fluctuates between 0.8 and 1.3 m.
The depth from which the coal is extracted increases with progress in the mining
operations so that technical and geological conditions for mining become much less
favorable. As a consequence, some mines working exclusively in the coal beds of the
Ostrava Formation were recently shut down.
2.2 Brown coal
At present, brown coal forms the major source of energy-producing raw
material in the Czech Republic. It is extracted from open cast mines in the Krušné
hory piedmont basins of Tertiary age (the North Bohemian and Sokolov basins).
Only one underground mine is operating in this area. The local brown coal is of
boiler quality with a medium to low degree of coalification (low rank) (Bouška and
Pešek, 1999). Brown coals of higher rank occur in the North Bohemian Basin. The
ash content varies considerably and may be as high as 40 % or more locally. Only
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one coal bed (designated as the Main coal seam) is usually extracted but it may
locally bifurcate. The thickness of the compact coal bed may be as much as twenty
meters or even more. The depth of opencast mines progressively increases so that in
some parts of the basin depths of 150 m may be reached and exceeded. Brown coal is
mostly burnt in power plants that are equipped with scrubbers to remove sulfur
dioxide because some of the lignite has a high sulfur content. Smaller proportion of
brown coal output is used in chemical industry.
The brown coals presently mined from both basins are designated as “lignite”
to “sub-bituminous coal” according to the ASTM classification. In the Czech
Republic, the term lignite is reserved for brown coals with a low degree of
coalification that contain fragments of wood of xylithic type. So defined, the reserves
of lignite in the Czech Republic are registered separately. Only one deposit of lignite
is mined. This is located in the northern extension of the Vienna Basin – the socalled South Moravian lignite district. The annual output does not exceed 500.000
metric tons (e.g., 459.000 tons were extracted in 2006 - Starý et al., 2007). The
whole production is burnt in a local power plant.
2.3 Uranium ores
During the second half of the 20th century, the Czech Republic was among the
largest producers of uranium ore in the world. Ca 110.000 metric tons of uranium
metal were extracted from uranium deposits in the Czech Republic during the period
from 1945 to 2006 (Čechák and Klusoň, 2006). At present, only the Rožná deposit is
being mined underground. This deposit consists of brecciated uranium-bearing zones
confined to metamorphic rocks in the northeastern part of the Moldanubian domain
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of the Bohemian Massif (Jirásek and Badera, 2005). Uranium is extracted from the
Stráž pod Ralskem deposit as a by-product of remedial work. This deposit is of
stratabound type within Cretaceous sandstones and was mined by underground
chemical leaching until 1996. After the termination of full-scale chemical extraction,
ca 50 tons of uranium are still being extracted as a consequence of remedial
operations to decontaminate groundwaters and solutions containing uranium.
Altogether 350 – 500 tons of uranium metal is extracted annually in the Czech
Republic (420 t in 2005, 380 t in 2006 – Starý et al., 2007). On this basis, the Czech
Republic occupies the 12th – 13th place in world production of uranium (with
approx.1 % share of world output).
2.4 Crude oil
The oil extracted within the area of the Czech Republic covers only approx. 5
% of the national demand for this commodity (Starý et al., 2007). The oil fields are
concentrated in the West Carpathian system that forms the eastern part of the Czech
Republic. The West Carpathians were thrust over the eastern boundary of the
Bohemian Massif that now forms their basement. Oil pools of various types occur in
the Vienna Basin where they are located in a variety of structures. Middle and Upper
Badenian sandstones form the most favorable reservoir rock for concentration of
crude oil of which the Hrušky deposit is a typical example. The majority of these oil
deposits are exhausted and some of them have been used subsequently for storage of
natural gas. The Carpathian Foredeep and the so-called southeastern slopes of the
Bohemian Massif are other units containing oil pools. In the Carpathian Foredeep the
reservoir rocks are Miocene sandstones, while in the Bohemian Massif the Jurassic
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sediments and weathered crystalline rocks in the basement provide the reservoirs.
The Dambořice-Uhřice 2 deposit is the most important pool in this area (Ďurica et
al., 1986). New geophysical methods and exploratory drilling may lead to the
discovery of new deposits, but it is doubtful that these would be of such a size that
the contribution of oil from domestic sources would be able to significantly change
the unfavorable relation between supply and demand in the Czech Republic.
However, any new discoveries of oil would play an important part in extending the
lifetime of existing national reserves of this fossil fuel.
2.5 Natural gas
As in the case of crude oil, the Czech Republic is short of reserves of natural
gas. Gas fields are also located in Southern Moravia being confined to the geological
units of the West Carpathians (e.g., in the Vienna Basin). The Dunajovice deposit is
the largest accumulation of natural gas and typically representative of these deposits
in the area. Natural gas deposits also occur in Northern Moravia where they are
linked to coal beds within the Czech part of the Upper Silesian Basin, and/or in
weathered Carboniferous formations and in their roof (Ďurica et al., 1986). Their
origin is believed to be related to coalification processes in coal beds (e.g., the
exhausted Žukov field, now used for underground storage). Local production of
natural gas covers ca 2-3 % of demand for this commodity in the Czech economy
(Starý et al., 2007).
Natural gas is also extracted from abandoned coal mines in Northern
Moravia. Extracted gas is delivered into gas distribution networks and/or is used for
generation of electricity or heat.
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New discoveries of natural gas in both the above-mentioned areas cannot be
excluded, but such discoveries, if any, are unlikely to cause significant changes in the
proportion of gas supplied from domestic sources to the Czech economy. However,
as in the case of oil, any new discoveries will extend the life of the registered gas
reserves within the energy balance of the Czech Republic.
3. The inventory of deposits of raw materials for production of energy and “the
Czech energy mix”
The proportions of the different categories of raw materials available for
energy production in the Czech Republic and the inventory of their reserves
described above have a fundamental influence on the pattern of production and the
energy policy of the Czech Republic.
Czech electricity production is based on two fundamental sources – on brown
coal and nuclear energy. Given the present state of technical knowledge and the
economic circumstances, these two energy sources are absolutely irreplaceable. The
role of other sources is important from the viewpoint of diversification of the energy
portfolio, but not from the viewpoint of their proportional contribution to national
energy production.
In 2007, a total of 81.4 TWh were generated and 59.8 TWh consumed in the
Czech Republic (net production and net consumption). The share of individual types
of power plants in the net generation of electricity is as follows: steam power plants –
51.7 TWh, steam-gas power plants – 2.4 TWh, nuclear power plants – 24.6 TWh,
other (wind-power plants, geothermal, other alternative power plants) – 0.29 TWh
(Energy Regulatory Office, 2008).
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In comparison with a range of technically developed countries, the Czech
Republic has the great advantage of relatively low dependence on the import of
strategic energy-producing raw materials needed for the generation of electricity. The
liquid and gaseous fossil fuels, deposits of which are almost negligible in the Czech
Republic, are used on a very limited scale for the generation of electricity. The Czech
‘best energy mix’ is based on local resources of brown coal, nuclear energy,
hydroelectricity and the progressive implementation of renewable resources, but the
role of the latter is limited to a large extent because of the topography and climate of
the Czech Republic.
For the time being, the Czech Republic generates more electric energy than it
consumes, so it belongs, together with France, among the few European countries
that are able to export electric energy. In 2007, the balance import/export
corresponded to 16 TWh, which was ca 18 % of gross production and 19 % of net
production (Energy Regulatory Office, 2008). However, the Czech Republic is
expected to loose the status of an energy exporting country, and within a few years it
will become a country that has to import electricity. There are different estimates of
when this situation will be reached, but expert opinion is that it will occur between
2012 and 2017. If the area available for extraction of brown coal is limited for
ecological reasons and production stops, and if local production of boiler bituminous
coal terminates around 2015 (without replacement by imported coal), assuming that
the construction of additional nuclear reactors does not take place, then by the year
2015 the deficit in production capacity relative to the predicted consumption of
electric energy will become dangerously large. After the year 2040 (when the
Temelín nuclear power plant is closed) the deficit will increase by a further 16 TWh
so that a critical point will be reached. This very negative and dangerous trend is
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actually irreversible and there are only two ways in which the supply of electric
energy can be guaranteed in future. The first would be to import electric energy from
outside the Czech Republic (assuming it is available at all). This would mean the loss
of energy independence for the Czech Republic. The second is to take the immediate
decision to construct an efficient new emissions-free nuclear power plant to supply
the future energy demands of the nation.
References
Bouška, V., Pešek, J., 1999. Quality parameters of lignite of the North Bohemian
Basin in the Czech Republic in comparsion with the world average lignite.
International Journal of Coal Geology, 40, 211-235.
Čechák, T., Klusoň, J., 2006. The Uranium Mining and Storage of Nuclear Waste in
Czech Republic. In Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on
Nuclear Science and Safety in Europe. Dordrecht, Springer, vol. 1, 207-217.
Dopita, M., et al., 1997. Geology of the Czech Part of the Upper Silesian Basin.
Ministerstvo životního prostředí České republiky, Praha (in Czech with English
summary).
Ďurica, D., Namestnikov, J.G., Pagáč, I., Roth, Z., 1986. Deposits of oil and natural
gas in Central Europe. ALFA, Bratislava (in Slovak with English summary).
Jirásek, J., Badera, J., 2005. Rožná – the last expoited uranium deposit in the Czech
Republic. Przegląd Geologiczny, 53, 11, 1026-1029 (in Polish).
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Sivek, M., Dopita, M., Krůl, M., Čáslavský, M., Jirásek, J., 2003. Atlas of ChemicalTechnological Properties of Coals in the Czech Part of the Upper Silesian Basin.
Vysoká škola báňská – Technical University, Ostrava (in English and Czech).
State Energy Conception (approved by the Government of the Czech Republic
resolution No. 211 of March 10, 2004), 2004. Ministry of the Industry and Trade,
Praha.
Starý, J., Kavina, P., Vaněček, M., Sitenský, I., Kotková, J., Nekutová, T., 2007.
Mineral commodity summaries of the Czech Republic (state to 2006). Ministry of the
Environment & Czech Geological Survey – Geofond, Praha.
Energy Regulatory Office, 2008. Annual Data Summary of Electric Power System of
the Czech Republic - 2007 [online]. Prague. HTML format. Accessible at www:
<URL:
http://www.eru.cz/dias-browse_articles.php?parentId=195&deep=off&type=>
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Apparent
Commodity
Unit
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
consumption
average 2003-2007*
Black coal
1000 t
13 382
14 648
12 778
13 017
12 462
9 040
Brown coal
1000 t
49 920
47 840
48 658
48 915
49 134
47 560
Uranium ore
tU
458
435
420
383
322
(ca 700) NA
Crude oil
1000 t
310
299
306
259
240
7 300
Natural gas
1000 m3
131
125
356
148
148
9 400
Table 1. Output of energy-producing raw materials in the Czech Republic and their
average consumption in the years 2003 – 2007. Source: elaboration on data from
Starý et al., 2007.
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variant A
Commodity
variant B
Unit
economic
extractable
economic
extractable
Black coal
Years
62
9
67
13
Brown coal
Years
28
18
28
23
Uranium ore
Years
12
3
13
4
Crude oil
Years
61
7
52
8
Natural gas
Years
16
< 100
13
< 100
Table 2. Lifetime of deposits of mineral raw materials for energy production in the
Czech Republic. Source: elaboration on data from Starý et al., 2007.
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Figure 1. Deposits of raw materials for energy production in the Czech Republic
presently being extracted. 1 - Czech part of the Upper Silesian Basin, 2 – Sokolov
Basin, 3 – North Bohemian Basin, 4- South Moravian lignite district, 5 – oil deposits
of the Vienna Basin, 6 – oil deposits of the Carpathian Foredeep, 7 – area of natural
gas deposits in Southern Moravia, 8 – area of oil deposits in Northern Moravia, 9 –
uranium deposit at Rožná, 9- uranium deposit at Stráž pod Ralskem (Starý et al.,
2007, modified).
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