Renewable energy production falls in first quarter due to bad wind conditions

In the first quarter of the year, Estonian power stations produced 375 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy, and renewable energy accounted for 13.2 per cent of total electricity consumption in Estonia.

In the first quarter of last year, renewable energy accounted for 15.8 per cent of total consumption, and in the same period in 2016, this number was 13 per cent. Estonia has set a target for the share of renewable energy at 16.1 per cent this year.

The decrease in the amount and share of renewable energy was caused primarily by the decrease in the volume of wind energy, which totalled up 38 per cent of total renewable energy generation in the first quarter, and, with production of 143 gigawatt-hours, was a quarter less compared to the previous year.

Producers received subsidies for wind energy production from January to March in the amount of 5.7 million euros, or 19 per cent less than the same period in the previous year. A total of 82 per cent of the electricity generated from wind energy was subsidised, and during the three-month period, 20 per cent of the subsidies available, for up to 600 gigawatt-hours of wind energy production, were paid out.

Electricity generated from biomass, biogas and waste accounted for 59 per cent of renewable energy production during the first three months of the year. A total of 224 gigawatt-hours were produced from these sources, which is equivalent to the same period from last year. Subsidies totalling 12 million euros were paid out for electricity production from biomass, biogas and waste in the first quarter of the year.

In the first quarter of this year, a total of eight gigawatt-hours of electricity were produced from hydropower, and subsidies totalled 206 000 euros.

The number of solar panel owners receiving subsidies is growing at a rapid rate, and currently more than 1200 private individuals and companies are generating electricity using solar panels. In the first quarter of this year, the amount of electricity generated by solar panels and provided to the grid totalled 0.9 gigawatt-hours. With the increase in the number of solar panels, this number has grown fourfold year-on-year.

Since most of the electricity generated by solar panels is consumed locally by micro-producers, it is estimated that the total amount of electricity produced by solar panels could be 4–5 times more than the amount distributed to the grid and receiving subsidies.

Subsidies for efficient combined heat and power (CHP) generation were a tenth more than at the same time last year—1.6 million euros. There were a total of 52 gigawatt-hours produced under CHP.

Subsidies for renewable energy and CHP generation are financed by electricity consumers through renewable energy charges. Elering collected 21.1 million euros from the charge in the first quarter, and a total of 20.3 million euros was paid out in subsidies. More detailed information on renewable energy subsidies is available on the Elering website.