Estonia: Renewable energy, cogeneration support payments total EUR 67 mln in 2012

Photo: Urmas Luik

Renewable energy and high efficiency cogeneration support payments in Estonia totaled 66.9 million euros last year, 8 percent more than the year before.

Renewable energy subsidies disbursed by the transmission system operator Elering totaled 62.7 million euros, which is 9.5 percent more than in 2011. Support for high-efficiency combined heat and power generation decreased by 10.5 percent in annual comparison, to 4.22 million euros, it appears from data on Elering's website.

Around one third of the renewable energy support paid out last year went to Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS (Eesti Energia Narva Power Plants), a company of the state-owned Eesti Energia group. The company received 20.7 million euros in all, 25 percent more than in 2011.

The second-largest recipient of renewable energy support was Tallinna Elektrijaam (Tallinn Power Plant), operator of the Vao cogeneration plant outside the Estonian capital. It was paid 8.52 million euros or 5 percent more than a year earlier.

Fortum Eesti received 7.75 million euros, an increase of 8.9 percent compared to the previous year, and the Tartu-based thermal energy provider Anne Soojus owned by Fortum Tartu was paid 7.48 million euros, 7.3 percent more than the year before.

According to the calculations of Elering, the renewable energy charge for consumers this year is 0.87 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is 10 percent less than last year. Consumers finance through the charge the subsidies paid to producers of electricity from renewable sources. The charge is paid by all consumers in Estonia in proportion with their consumption of network services.