Renewable electricity comprises one-half of Estonian power output in Q1

In the first quarter, Estonian power plants produced 601 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy – nearly 14 per cent more than during the same period in the last year. Renewable energy made up 51 per cent of total Estonian power output in the first three months of the year.

Renewable energy accounted for 24 per cent of total power consumption in Q1. By 2030, the goal is to achieve a share of at least 30 per cent. In the previous year, the proportion of renewable energy in total consumption was 21 percent.

The increase in the quantity and proportion of renewable energy was aided by the increased volume of wind energy and lower volume of power consumption. Wind energy made up 49 percent of the total production of renewable energy in Q1. The 294 gigawatt-hours produced is a more than 23 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Renewable energy producers received a total of 29 million euros of support from January to March this year – 13 per cent more than in the same period last year. In Q1, 82 per cent of wind energy was subsidized and the amount of the support was over 13 million euros. In the first three months of the year, the payments made therefore come to 40 percent of the maximum subsidized amount of 600 gigawatt-hours of wind energy, and it is expected that the limit will be reached this year.

Electricity produced from biomass, biogas and waste made up 47 percent of the production of renewable energy in the last three months. A total of 284 gigawatt-hours of electricity was generated from these types of fuel from January to March and 14 million euros in support was paid, which is 3 percent more compared to the same period last year.

A total of 11 gigawatt-hours of electricity was produced by hydroelectric power in the first quarter of the year and 373,000 euros was spent on support.

The number of owners of solar panels receiving support is constantly growing. In the first quarter of the year, the amount of electricity produced via solar panels and distributed to the network amounted to nearly 11.5 gigawatt-hours. Thanks to the addition of new solar panels, this indicator has increased by more than four times year-over-year.

The support for efficient co–generation was paid in the same amount as during the same period last year due to the warm weather and low thermal load – slightly more than a million euros. A total of 38 gigawatt-hours of electricity was produced in the efficient co-generation mode.

Electricity consumers finance the support for renewable energy and efficient co-generation by means of the renewable energy charge. Elering collected a total of 25.4 million euros of this charge in the first quarter and paid 29.2 million euros of support. Detailed information concerning the renewable energy support amounts is available in the renewable energy support section of Elering’s website.