Terms and conditions of support

Fixed-rate renewable energy support schemes ended on 31 December 2020.

Based on the support measures in force until 31 December 2020, renewable energy support is paid on the basis of subsections 59 (2²), (2⁴) and (2⁵) of the Electricity Market Act for production devices that meet the terms and conditions of the respective support measure.

Renewable energy support is paid for a production device installed from 1 January 2021 only if the production device has won the reverse auction. You can find more information about reverse auctions at www.elering.ee/en/reverse-auction.

Payment of support

Support is paid from the date on which a production device, which has been declared compliant by the system operator, first supplied electricity to the network or direct line.

Support is paid for up to 12 years from the start of the support period.

The renewable energy support rate is 5.37 s/kWh, i.e. 0.0537 euros per kilowatt-hour.

The efficient co-generation support rate is 3.2 s/kWh, i.e. 0.032 euros per kilowatt-hour.

 

Subsidised production quantity

The quantity of electricity for which renewable energy support is paid is determined by a remote reading device and is calculated by adding together the netted production (electricity supplied to the network minus electricity taken from the network every hour) delivered to the network by the system operator operating under an authorisation at all connection points of the producer’s power plant during the trading period and the quantity of electricity transmitted to the consumer through a direct line pursuant to the law in accordance with subsection 58 (2) of the Electricity Market Act.

You can find more information about applying for support via a direct line here https://elering.ee/en/direct-line-producers.

The support is paid each hour to a maximum extent of the generating capacity that the system operator has declared compliant with the Grid Code and for which the production device is registered as a recipient of support.

According to clause 59¹ (2) 4) of the Electricity Market Act, no support is paid during hours with a negative exchange price.

Toetuse väljamakse taotluse esitamine

Submitting an application for payment of support

Renewable energy support is paid according to the payment application submitted by the producer. The producer must submit an application for payment of support in Elering’s Renewable Energy Information System at green.elering.ee.

Producers who are private individuals can save automatic applications for support in the information system. You can save your automatic application for support by logging into Elering’s Renewable Energy Information System at green.elering.ee and selecting “Devices” → “Information related to support” → “Payment interval” → “Change”.

The application for payment of support must be submitted by the 7th date, in which case support is paid to the bank account specified in the application on the 21st date of the same month or the following business day.

The minimum support payment is 5 euros, meaning that an application for payment of support can be submitted once the support amount has accumulated to at least 5 euros.

From 14 July 2025, payment of support can only be applied for the production of the previous 12 months (subsection 59¹ (9) in conjunction with subsection 111³ (20) of the Electricity Market Act).

Data on paid support by type of fuel is published on Elering’s website and by recipient in the register of state aid and de minimis aid managed by the Ministry of Finance.

Changes to the data of a production device or producer

In the event of a change in the data of a production device or producer, including a change in the capacity of the production device, a change in the metering scheme, a change in the data of the network contract related to the production device, the use of a storage device, receipt of investment aid, or other such cases, the producer must immediately notify the payer of support thereof by submitting respective information in Elering’s Renewable Energy Information System or sending respective information to the e-mail address [email protected].

The above changes may affect the calculation of the quantity of subsidised production and/or the need to implement an additional metering solution or receive renewable energy support, therefore we ask you to comply with the terms and conditions for receiving support when making changes.

Payment of support for a production device that commenced production from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2020

The renewable energy support specified in subsection 59 (2⁵) of the Electricity Market Act is paid for a production device which has been declared compliant by the system operator and which commenced production from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2020 as de minimis aid based on European Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013. The total amount of de minimis aid per beneficiary may be up to 300,000 euros over three years.

Toetuse maksmine alates 1.01.2019–30.06.2020 tootmist alustanud tootmisseadmetele

01.01.2019-30.06.2020 võrguettevõtja poolt nõuetekohaseks tunnistatuna tootmist alustanud tootmisseadmetele makstakse ELTS § 59 lõikes 2⁵ nimetatud taastuvenergia toetust vähese tähtsusega abina (VTA) Euroopa Komisjoni määruse (EL) nr 1407/2013 alusel. Vähese tähtsusega abi kogusumma ühe toetuse saaja kohta võib olla kolme aasta jooksul kuni 300 000 eurot

Payment of support for a production device that commenced production from 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020

Production devices that commenced production from 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020 are paid renewable energy support specified in subsection 59 (2⁵) of the Electricity Market Act as state aid granted as block exemption.

On 1 July 2020, an amendment to the Electricity Market Act entered into force, establishing the granting of operating support for the production of electricity from renewable energy for a production device with an electrical capacity of up to 50 kW as state aid granted as block exemption under European Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014. By law, the terms and conditions of the respective regulation apply to this support. From 1 July 2020, producers who have supplied electricity to the network or direct line for the first time with a compliant production device qualify for the state aid support scheme provided under block exemption.

The support rate set out in the Electricity Market Act is 5.37 s/kWh and the support period is 12 years, provided that the production device meets the following terms and conditions of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014:

• “The maximum rate of return used in the levelized cost calculation shall not exceed the relevant swap rate plus a premium of 100 basis points. The relevant swap rate shall be the swap rate of the currency in which the aid is granted for a maturity that reflects the depreciation period of the installations supported” (Article 43(6) of the Regulation). Based on the above, the permitted rate of return of the project is 1% as at 31 December 2020.
• “Aid shall only be granted until the installation has been fully depreciated according to generally accepted accounting principles. Any investment aid granted to an installation shall be deducted from the operating aid” (Article 43(7) of the Regulation).

You can find more information about the profitability assessment of production devices covered by the state aid support scheme granted under block exemption at www.elering.ee/en/profitability-assessment.

 

Adding capacity to a production device receiving support under subsection 59 (2⁵) of the Electricity Market Act

If support is paid for a production device* on the basis of subsection 59 (2⁵) of the Electricity Market Act, the capacity of a production device, including the added capacity, must not exceed 50 kW. If the capacity of a production device exceeds 50 kW, the production device does not meet the conditions for receiving support and the producer is not entitled to receive support from the moment the capacity increase took place.

If the capacity of a production device, together with the added capacity, remains under 50 kW, then adding capacity to the production device is not prohibited up to reaching the limit of 50 kW, but since the support scheme has ended, no support is paid for electricity generated with the added capacity.

In this case, there are two options for calculating the quantity of energy eligible for support:

• according to subsection 58 (2) and section 108¹ of the Electricity Market Act, the producer can install a separate metering device in accordance with the requirements of the legislation on each electrical installation and transmit the corresponding metering data to the data exchange platform. In this case, the calculation of the quantity of energy of the support base is based on the corresponding metering data.
• the payer of support may determine the quantity of subsidised electricity generated proportionately to the share of the electrical capacity of the stage of the production device to the capacity of the entire production device (subsection 58 (2¹) of the Electricity Market Act). In this case, the producer does not need to ensure separate metering of each electrical installation, and the production quantity eligible for support is calculated proportionately to the total capacity of the production device. For example, if 5 kW of capacity is added to a production device with a capacity of 10 kW receiving support, the production quantity is multiplied by 10/15 to obtain the production quantity subject to support.

Adding capacity to a production device receiving support on other grounds

The capacity of a production device* together with the added capacity must not exceed the upper limit of the production device specified in the Electricity Market Act for the respective support measure, as the production device would then not meet the conditions for receiving support and the producer would not be entitled to receive support from the moment the capacity increase took place.

If the capacity of a production device, together with the added capacity, remains within the capacity limits prescribed in the Electricity Market Act, then adding capacity to the production device is not prohibited, but since the support scheme has ended, no support is paid for electricity generated with the added capacity.

In this case, there are two options for calculating the quantity of energy eligible for support:

• according to subsection 58 (2) and section 108¹ of the Electricity Market Act, the producer can install a separate metering device in accordance with the requirements of the legislation on each electrical installation and transmit the corresponding metering data to the data exchange platform. In this case, the calculation of the quantity of energy of the support base is based on the corresponding metering data.
• the payer of support may determine the quantity of subsidised electricity generated proportionately to the share of the electrical capacity of the stage of the production device to the capacity of the entire production device (subsection 58 (2¹) of the Electricity Market Act). In this case, the producer does not need to ensure separate metering of each electrical installation, and the production quantity eligible for support is calculated proportionately to the total capacity of the production device. For example, if 5 kW of capacity is added to a production device with a capacity of 10 kW receiving support, the production quantity is multiplied by 10/15 to obtain the production quantity subject to support.

* For the purposes of legislation, production device is considered to be the equipment and modules located after a single connection point.

Metering data necessary to determine production quantity

Based on subsection 59¹ (3) of the Electricity Act, Elering has established the data necessary to clarify the origin of electricity, i.e. general principles for measurements within an electrical installation (in estonian), if the origin and quantity of electricity cannot be determined unambiguously.

Change of ownership of a production device

The producer, i.e. the owner/party to a network contract related to the production device, has the right to apply for renewable energy support.

If the owner of the network contract changes, the new producer must first send the network contract entered in the name of the new owner to [email protected] in order to receive renewable energy support.