Renewable energy charge will decrease by 20 percent from the new year

In 2025, the renewable energy charge collected from electricity end consumers to finance renewable energy will decrease from 1.05 cents to 0.84 cents per kilowatt-hour, exclusive of value added tax. Historically, the renewable energy charge has been lower in just one year – in 2014 when it was 0.77 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The subsidy periods for power plants included in the old fixed-price subsidy scheme will come to an end one after the other, which means that less money will be spent on subsidies in the coming years. This is expected to lead to a slight decrease in the charge in the coming years.

This year electricity produced from renewable sources already accounts for 63 percent of the total electricity output in Estonia. At the same time, subsidised renewable electricity accounts for 46 percent of the total renewable electricity produced, i.e. more than half of renewable electricity is produced without subsidies.

Next year, according to the forecast, 84 million euros will be spent on subsidies for renewable energy and efficient co-generation. The volume of subsidised electricity production is expected to be around 1.6 terawatt-hours.

28 million euros will be spent on subsidies for both wind farms and solar parks. According to the plan, 23 million euros will be spent on biomass-powered plants, three million euros will be spent on subsidies for power plants that have participated in renewable energy auctions in recent years, and less than 2 million euros will be spent on subsidies for efficient co-generation.

The renewable energy charge is a statutory fee which is used to finance subsidies for electricity produced from a renewable energy source or using the efficient co-generation mode and supplied to the network. According to the law, renewable energy charge is calculated by Elering who prepares and publishes on its website by 1 December an assessment based on production and consumption forecasts, where input comes from network operators, owners of the direct line, producers of electricity from renewable energy or using the efficient co-generation mode, and consumers connected to Elering’s electricity network.

You can read more about renewable energy charges here: Renewable energy charge | Elering