Renewable Energy Made Up 13.5% of Total Power Consumption in Second Quarter

Renewable energy made up 13.5% of Estonia’s total power consumption in the second quarter of the year. The share of renewable energy in power consumption was 12.2% in the same period last year. Electricity produced from renewable sources made up 11% of total electricity production.

In total, 281 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy was produced in the second quarter, amounting to a one-tenth increase. Biomass, biogas and waste accounted for more than half of the renewable energy produced in the second quarter. 160 gigawatt-hours of electricity was produced from these fuels in three months, an increase of 15% over the second quarter of 2013. Subsidies for electricity produced from biomass, biogas and waste totalled 7.3 million euros, a slight increase from the 7 million euros paid out for the same period last year. Subsidies for electricity produced from biodegradable waste were introduced in the third quarter of last year.

Wind energy made up 40% of total renewable energy produced in the second quarter of the year, rising 5% year over year, to 113 gigawatt-hours. The increase was facilitated by the addition of wind parks in Lõpe and Paldiski; measurements made on the Pakri Peninsula and in Virtsu also showed an increase of one quarter in daily average wind speed.

Subsidies for wind energy increased by 46% year over year, to 5.2 million euros. 
Micro producers continue to be added to the grid at a rapid pace; in spite of this, the total subsidies paid on solar energy remain low compared to those paid on other fuels. Whereas subsidies paid on electricity produced from solar energy amounted to 1,400 euros in the second quarter of last year, then 6,700 euros were paid out in the second quarter of this year for 124.1 megawatt-hours of electricity provided to the grid. 17 owners of solar panels received subsidies in the first six months of last year; today, this number has increased to 111.

In the second quarter, Elering paid out renewable energy subsidies for a total of 238 gigawatt-hours of electricity. In financial terms, the total subsidies paid on renewable energy have increased by 17% year over year, to 13 million euros.

Efficient co-generation subsidies increased by a third in the second quarter of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013, to a total of 1.3 million euros. The amount of electric energy produced in the subsidised efficient co-generation mode increased from 30 gigawatt-hours to 39 gigawatt-hours. The increase in production may have been caused by the one-tenth decrease in average quarterly temperature compared to last year, as well as the high precipitation in June, increasing the demand for heat energy and thus enabling the production of more energy.

More information on renewable energy subsidies is available here.