EU Recovery and Resilience Facility in Elering

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The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) provides support to various sectors for the implementation of investments that boost the economy and help meet climate objectives. The Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Facility for the European economy provides for boosting the European economy, improving green and digital transition, and making economy fairer and more resilient and sustainable for future generations. The RRF projects are co-funded from the European Union’s recovery plan NextGenerationEU.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, approved financing of €30 million for developing Elering’s network on 5 October 2021 within the framework of the Estonian recovery and resilience plan. The Ministry of Climate allocated an additional €6.2 million in RRF funds to Elering in September 2023, bringing the total amount of support to €36.2 million. RRF investment support is granted to the transmission system operator as non-refundable aid. As non-refundable aid is not included in the calculation of network charges, the pressure to increase network charges is reduced.

Elering analysed which investments would be the most efficient way to achieve the above objectives. As a result of the analysis, it was decided to use the RRF support for the achievement of two main goals:

  1. facilitate the transition to climate-neutral electricity generation in line with the Estonia 2035 strategy. This will be done by increasing the capacity of existing overhead lines in the 110-330 kV grid and linking the 110 kV network more closely to the 330 kV transit network to reduce the impact of cross-border power flows through the local 110 kV power grid, which will have the effect of blocking the ability of local producers to connect additional capacity. The connection between Western and Eastern Estonia must also be strengthened in the 330 kV network. The entire length of the 330 kV Kiisa-Paide overhead line L357 will be reconstructed within the scope of this to increase the transmission capacity and the 110 kV Paide-Rapla overhead line L187 will be partly lifted onto shared pylon. The Viru-Paide 330 kV overhead line L356 will be dismantled from the Viru substation to the future Mustvee substation, and the existing overhead line will be reconstructed from the Mustvee substation to the Paide substation (the line corridor will be reduced by about 85 km), i.e. the Viru-Paide line will be replaced by the Mustvee-Paide line. The shared hanging option with the Mustvee-Kantküla 110 kV line will be used when the Mustvee-Paide line is built. A new 330/110 kV substation will also be built in Lihula. The new substation will shorten the length of 110 kV lines in the western region, which will reduce the negative effects and losses caused by voltage drops and increase the security of supply and the interconnection of the 330 and 110 kV networks. The new 330 kV substation will reduce the impact of the north-south transit flows through the 110 kV network in Western Estonia, and the planned substation will also allow for the creation of disconnection points for the complete elimination of transit flows, especially on weaker lines.

 

  1. The storm resilience of the grids will be increased. For this purpose, the security of supply of Saaremaa and Muhu will be increased by reconstructing the lines feeding the islands from the mainland from the Lihula substation to the Rõuste and Virtsu substations, and a new 110 kV overhead line section will be built from Rõuste to the L170 Lihula-Virtsu line, i.e. a three-ended Lihula-Rõuste-Virtsu 110 kV overhead line will be created. Also, the Võiküla-Orissaare parallel line in Muhu will have to be built on separate pylon, as the lines supplying Saaremaa, Hiiumaa and part of Muhu are currently on shared pylon, which means that if a mast were to break, the power supply with the mainland would be completely disrupted. In order to increase the security of supply in the Sikassaare area, the lines to the Sikassaare substation will also be built on separate pylon. In order to reduce the environmental impact and increase weather resistance, it’s necessary to bring the overhead line section across the dam in the Väike Väin Strait into a cable. The existing overhead line across the Väinatamm causeway passes through a bird migration corridor and since the line passes over the sea, there is greater than usual icing risk and more exposure to winds. The dimensions of the existing 110 kV lines in the region of Western Estonia and the islands will also be increased to boost capacity, i.e. the distance between the ground and the cable will be increased.

 

The activities of RRF projects in Elering started in 2021. Preparatory work for the renovation was carried out in the first year and it included the design, public procurement and the launch of the necessary procedures. Construction work started in 2022 and the final deadline for completion is July 2026.