Renewable Energy Comprises 14 Per Cent of Total Electricity Consumed in Third Quarter

In the third quarter of this year, renewable energy comprised 14.0 per cent of total electricity consumption. 278 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy was produced in the third quarter.

A summary of the last nine months shows that the share of renewable energy was 16.2 per cent, exceeding last year’s results for the same period by two per cent.

In the third quarter, wind energy comprised 39 per cent of renewable energy total production, and the amount of electricity produced from wind – 108 gigawatt-hours – was approximately the same amount as a year ago. Elering paid 5.2 million euros in subsidies for wind energy, seven per cent more than for the same period last year. In the third quarter, 89 per cent of the total wind energy produced was subsidised.

Wind energy receives subsidies up to a maximum of 600 gigawatt-hours per calendar year. In the first nine months of this year, 72 per cent of the quota has been filled, meaning that the subsidies have been paid for 432 gigawatt-hours of electricity produced from wind energy. If this trend continues, the amount of subsidised wind energy might reach approximately 600 gigawatt-hours by the end of this year, meaning that for the first time a situation might occur where the wind energy produced at the end of the year will not receive any subsidies.

In the third quarter, 60 per cent of renewable energy production came from electricity produced from biomass, biogas and waste. 167 gigawatt-hours of electricity was produced from these fuel sources from July to September. Electricity produced from biomass, biogas and waste received 7.8 million euros in subsidies this quarter.

In addition, in the third quarter of this year, two gigawatt-hours of hydro energy was produced, with 58,000 euros in subsidies paid out.

The number of solar panel owners receiving subsidies has doubled compared to last autumn, reaching over 400 subsidised owners. In the third quarter, the amount of electricity energy produced from solar panels and transferred to the grid totalled 648 megawatt-hours, two and a half times more than a year before. As the producers themselves presumably consume most of the solar energy that they produce domestically, the total amount of electricity produced from solar panels is estimated to be four to five times more than the subsidised amount.

In the third quarter, Elering paid renewable energy subsidies in the amount of 13.1 million euros for 245 gigawatt-hours of electricity. In financial calculations, this equates to an increase of three per cent in renewable energy subsidies compared to the third quarter of last year.

In the third quarter of this year, subsidies for the production of efficient combined heat and power were slightly more than at the same time last year, reaching 540,000 euros. Electricity produced through combined heat and power totalled 17 gigawatt-hours.

During the first nine months of the year, subsidies for renewable energy and efficient combined heat and power in the amount of 51.6 million euros were paid out. A total of 48.6 million euros in renewable energy fees has been collected from electricity consumers, from which the subsidies are financed. More information on renewable energy subsidies can be found here.