On 02 May 2017, a Kick-off Workshop on the “Energy Master Plan for Ulaanbaatar City” study was organized in Mongolia. Different stakeholders from the energy sector of Mongolia such as the Ministry of Energy, the Energy Regulatory Commission of Mongolia, the National Dispatcher Center, relevant utilities of UB City, and representatives from international organizations, research institutions, private sector and NGOs participated in the workshop.
In his opening speech, Mr. T. Gantumur, General Manager of Ulaanbaatar highlighted the importance of the study in addressing the air pollution in Ulaanbaatar City. He said that this study was completely in line with the policies and strategies adopted in recent years in Mongolia and Ulaanbaatar City and assured the full support of the Mayor’s Office in successfully conducting the study.
The workshop is in the framework of the GIZ “Integrated Resource Management in Asian Cities: Urban Nexus Project” financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented jointly with the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar City. This study has been proposed by the GIZ Urban Nexus Project and will be implemented in 2017.
A number of different policies, strategies and actions have been adopted and implemented in Ulaanbaatar City in the past but have not been sufficient to solve the dramatic health and environmental problems. The implementation of short-term individual measures that do not form part of a comprehensive strategy with a clear objective will most likely have little impact.
There is a need for a substantiated analysis of all possible options for action and the identification of basic potential solutions for the systematic transformation of UB’s energy system. The focus should be on the heating sector. Only when it is clear what a sustainable overall solution should look like, even if this seems difficult to implement in the short-term, will a systematic and targeted transformation of the energy sector be possible. This transformation poses a major challenge given the cheapness of coal, the population’s income structure, the lack of technical know-how, the high percentage of informal housing structures, the hurdles to be mounted in any change to traditional heating concepts as well as the very low temperatures during winter (UB is the coldest capital in the world). However, there is no alternative if a broad and tangible impact is to be achieved.
The 2015 Green Development Action Plan for Ulaanbaatar foresees an increase in the percentage of renewable energies for energy production from 4.3 per cent in 2013 to 20-25 per cent by 2020. By 2030, renewable energies are supposed to reach 30 per cent.
During the Kick-off workshop, Gerhard Stryi-Hipp, Head of Group Smart Cities and Jan-Bleicke Eggers, Senior Researcher from Fraunhofer ISE (Institute for Solar Energy Systems), which will carry out this study, presented the expected outcomes.
The study aims to provide a comprehensive, impartial inventory of the initial situation regarding the demand for, the consumption of, the provision and the distribution of heat and electricity. Furthermore, estimates for future energy demand by determining and/or assessing development factors such as population and economic growth, increase in efficiency, building insulation, increase in comfort, etc. will be made. All technologically possible options for actions, which allow for a reduction of CO2 emissions and/or a sustainable and climate-friendly energy supply, will be assessed. The study will also elaborate options to achieve an optimized energy system primarily based on renewable energies. The master plan will point out possible alternatives including cost estimates and recommendations with a time perspective of up to 2050. This shall provide an orientation guideline as part of a long-term transformation roadmap to the government of UB, the Ministry of Energy and other institutions.
At the end of the workshop, a panel discussion tackled the issue of tariffs, costs and standards in connection with the use of renewable energies. The necessity of a consumers’ based survey with regard to the use of the renewable energy was mentioned. Moreover, it was stated that the timing horizon of 2050 should be phased, using 2030, 2035 and 2040 as milestones. The use of solid waste and waste water as additional sources for the energy generation were proposed.
The capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar (UB) with its 1.37 million inhabitants, depends largely on fossil energy. Its utilization not only poses a major global challenge in terms of climate change in the medium- and long-term, but has massive consequences that are already evident today. Particularly during the winter period, UB suffers from extremely high air pollution caused by heating and cooking in the GER districts using raw coal. This is, according to the WHO, one of the worst worldwide. Many Mongolian families, who have been deprived of their traditional herds and thus their livelihoods for the last decade, have moved to UB and have mainly settled with their yurts/GERs (traditional nomadic tent) on the city’s outskirts. Today, about 65 per cent of UB’s inhabitants live in informal GER quarters.
