The secrets of the Peruča Dam unveiled.
The project of a combined cogeneration gas power plant (KKPE) Peruča united ecocide over the Cetina river and entire Cetina valley with the plunder of the century of Croatian electricity consumers. This claim comes from young physicist Mislav Cvitković, doctor of physics at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität in Erlangen in Germany, known to a wider audience as the co-founder of the Science Festival in Sinj, Slobodna Dalmacija published on January 25, 2017.
“Since the public discussion on KKPE Peruča contained almost no expert arguments, I decided to study it in detail, analyse and clearly define pro and con arguments,” said Cvitković.
You started, as you’ve said, from the advantages of the object. What are they?
“The advantages to be gained are numerous. Hundreds of engineers and several thousand workers would be employed in its construction, the doomed project of the Dalmatian gas pipeline would be saved, the energy security of Dalmatia secured, with dozens of engineers permanently employed upon completion as well as many other workers. Question is who would pay for the benefits and how much, what would be the environmental impact and who would profit? Hence my analysis focused on the ecological and economic issues.”
The public in Cetina valley openly rose up against the construction of KKPE Peruča due to ecological reasons?
“I approached this project with a positive outlook. I was happy something positive was going on in my economically numb Cetina valley. It took me a long time to find the environmental impact study. The study authors falsely cited the involvement of the Ruđer Bošković Institute, which the IRB publicly denied later. By studying the entire project and study I found a lack of data and erroneous references, which caused doubt. In the end, if all is clear, why use big names such as IRB as a fence?”
What do you find problematic and unacceptable in the study?
“When the data is combined, it turns out the KKPE Peruča delivers 280 thousand litres of waster waters per day. The exact chemical specification and concentration of harmful matter in it is not cited anywhere, although the very designers have stated those waters are acidic and alkaline. Acids and alkalines directly influence the water pH of Peruča lake and Cetina river and destroy their bio system and make the water undrinkable.”
Can anything worse happen to Cetina valley? How about the heating of the lake and exhaust gases?
“The plant would intake 8 cubic metres of water per second for cooling and return it to the lake 8 degrees Celsius warmer. Due to erroneous calculations and incorrect parameters the study claims there is no heating of the lake although a giant heater was literally placed in it. And heating directly destroys biological balance. The chimney would release into the atmosphere each second 760 kilograms of exhaust gases, or 2.237.040 kilograms every hour. Just the CO2 amounts to 145 tonnes per hour, the equivalent of 15 thousand automobiles.”
You’ve also discovered the study contains “fixed” meteorological data?
“Part of the study that deals with climate influence uses data from the Sinj meteorological station and some data from the Gornji and Donji Bitelić and Knin stations. None of the data was taken from the Peruča station which ash been in operation since the dam and hydroelectric power plant were constructed. Why? The answer is simple: data from Peruča station are not favourable. Peruča has stronger winds and more precipitation, an ideal conductor for air pollution followed by water and ground.”
The Vis Viva website of the project bearer cites gas as a green energy source?
“That’s a spin. Gas is a fossil fuel and cannot be named anything else. Besides, gas power plants in Western Europe are shutting down as they are economically unprofitable. During 2014 and 2015 8 were closed in Germany, 2 in Italy, 8 in Britain, 5 in The Netherlands, 6 in France, and 1 each in Belgium, Slovakia and Czech Republic.”
They close them in Europe and want to build them in Croatia, a private investment. Where is the logic in that?
“The logic is in the legalised plunder of consumers of electricity under the same or similar recipe of a privileged price of wind-generated electric power. The Law on Renewable Energy Sources and Heavy-duty Cogeneration, declared in September 2015 by the coalition government led by SDP, a “market premium” was introduced, a difference between the contracted and current market price of electricity. This difference for renewable sources and “efficient cogeneration” is paid by the state directly to the electricity producer from the subsidies gained from charging consumers for delivered electricity. This is why the Peruča power plant was designed as combined cogeneration, which would beside the 450 megawatt of electricity produce 50 megawatts of heating energy which no one needs. Except the private investor who is thus guaranteed a secure return of investment from the pockets of Croatian consumers, in billions of kuna.”
Despite your statements, the Croatian government initiated procedures at the end of last year to declare KKPE Peruča a strategic project?
“Many Croatian governments made decision which were costly for citizens. Is this one of them, the citizens should decide. I only wonder why such a project would be strategic for the state and why isn’t the state an investor in such a project? I believe I have given the answers. The only one to profit from this project would be the private investor. Everything would be paid for by Croatian citizens, many times over. Financially on one hand, through the increased price of electricity, and on the other hand through air, soil, water, agriculture, tourism, health…”
