Abstract
Over time, the discovery of the deposit, the exploitation and processing of coal has led to the development and prosperity of many areas called “coal regions”. In the last decades we have witnessed the closing process of many exploitation capacities (underground mines or open pit quarries) with complex socio-economic and even cultural impact in the coal region and on the continent. Debates for or against “coal” with related arguments, policies, strategies and measures at global, regional, national and local level integrate holistically from the “resource” issue to large dynamic systems (energy, climate, urbanism). The relationship between the coal industry and the socio-economic aspects is multifaceted and not yet fully explored. Our paper proposes a statistically documented research on regional development using representative socio-economic indicators. The paper is aiming to present the current socio-economic state in Jiu Valley micro-region, as a result of the structural transformations / changes in the coal industry of Romania’s largest hard coal-fired coal basin.
Highlights
If we look at the energy mix as a whole (Fig.1), the structure of primary energy production is diversified and balanced, making Romania, according to the Romanian Development Strategy for the 20 years [2], a regional exception, on European level being third after Estonia and Denmark related to total energy import dependency
In Jiu Valley micro-region, the major road infrastructure is represented by national roads - DN 66 (E 79), which cross the territory of Petroşani and DN 7A, which depart from DN 66
The socio-economic aspects are, important and must be considered in the analyzes underlying the elaboration of policies, strategies and action plans that will generate the initiation of financial mechanisms / instruments dedicated to these areas in order to support this structural transformation / change
Summary
If we look at the energy mix as a whole (Fig.1), the structure of primary energy production is diversified and balanced, making Romania, according to the Romanian Development Strategy for the 20 years [2], a regional exception, on European level being third after Estonia and Denmark related to total energy import dependency. Mainly lignite and hard coal to a much smaller extent, will still play until 2050 an important role in Romania (17.3% contribution in the total primary energy production), for ensuring this energy independence and security of electricity supply. As a strategic primary energy resource, in a cost-effective way in compliance with European environmental requirements, together with a rising renewable energy resources (RES) and nuclear use shares, represents a challenging goal for Romania but not impossible
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