Regional Approach for Policies and Measures Aiming to Sustainable Energy Development

Abstract

It is widely accepted that integrated complex of environmental, social and economic policy measures is easier to implement in towns and regions scale because of “bottom up” approach permit to achieve more than one goal of sustainable development. Municipalities may have significant role in promotion of sustainable development as local authorities have more functions in energy sector, and such opportunities should be used. They may implement policies and measures, such as diversification of energy supply system, using a mix of fuel types from a range of sources and a variety of supply options by using renewable energy sources. The threat of energy supply interruptions can be minimized through the maintenance of energy infrastructure, reliable plant and effective back-up systems. Encouraging energy efficiency among consumers to reduce overall demand, and the effective management of demand to reduce the difference between peak and low energy use assists in reducing the threat of short term interruptions in energy supply that can be caused by high demand. Prospective organizational and financing forms for sustainable energy development are local/regional energy programs. Integration of energy projects into local development process may create an external positive effect concerning environmental and other national sustainable development goals. The examples of EU-15 countries (United Kingdom, Austria, The Netherlands etc.) implementing their sustainable energy development and climate change mitigation policies on local level can be successfully applied in Lithuania and other countries. However, integration of sustainable energy projects, e.g. renewable energy sources (RES) technologies may be successful after reliable methodological assessment of positive effect of such projects for solving social, economic, rural development problems in regional development context. Scientific problem is to define the economic background for policies and measures aiming to sustainable energy development. All support schemes must form single, systematic and blameless economic whole. Methodology of analysis is devised both for identifying and for quantifying energy market distortions that lead to inefficient resource allocation. Methodology of cost-benefit analysis of the positive or negative effects of increasing energy supply security, social, environmental, economic impacts was applied.