The Estonian state energy company “Eesti Energia” plans to invest 2.5 billion euros over the next five years, of which 1.5 billion euros will be invested in the construction of wind and solar farms, and another billion euros in energy development of the District of Eastern Viru, as well as the efficiency of the electricity grid which is improving.
The company’s profit of 33 million euros in the second quarter is justified by the investment plans, three times more than in April-June last year, but the company justifies the development of renewable energy resources by the lack of electricity supply in the region, which in turn contributes to the increase in prices.
“As the main problem of our region as a whole is currently the lack of electricity generation capacity, the quickest and most suitable solution for society in the current energy crisis is to invest in renewable electricity,” said the representative of the printing by Eesti Energia Matias Kaivs on Monday the Estonian public broadcaster ERR.
He admitted that the problem is not only the lack of wind and solar energy in Estonia, but also the poor renewable energy production capacity in the Baltic states as a whole.
Kaivs added that wind and solar farms are the cheapest and most environmentally friendly form of energy production and, as renewable energy production increases, more expensive and more polluting power plants are less likely to enter the market.
This year “Eesti Energia” has already invested 24.7 million euros in the electricity market, 39.9 million euros in renewable energy and 16.8 million euros in the planned “Enefit 280” fuel stone station.
Focusing on wind and solar energy, the company plans to generate electricity from other resources during the winter months, as well as to expand storage technologies, such as building hydroelectric depots.
Furthermore, interest in microgeneration has increased significantly. As Kaivs informed, “Eesti Energia” receives about 150 requests for the purchase and installation of solar panels per week.
The electricity distribution company “Elektrilevi” announced that 3,218 requests for connection to the network of microgeneration stations were received in the second quarter. About 1000 of these contracts are satisfied.
Eesti Energia’s renewable energy subsidiary, Enefit Green, is building a 74 megawatt (MW) wind farm in the village of Totsi and plans to connect it to the Sopi wind farm for a total of 161 MW of capacity.
In general, renewable energy stations with a total capacity of 258 MW are being built in the region from Finland to Poland, which represents more than half of Estonia’s electricity consumption.
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