Photovoltaic energy in Estonia
General
The
Estonian energy supply is mainly from the indigenous fossil fuel oil
shale, a situation that only occurs in a few countries worldwide.
Regarding renewables, the additional potential is mainly in biomass,
biogas, wind power and small hydropower. The Estonian energy
policy is described in the Estonian
Longterm Public Fuel and Energy
Sector Development Plan and the Development Plan for Electricity
Sector until 2015. According to these documents, the
overall share of
renewable electricity aimed at is 8% in 2015 and 10% in 2020. The
following technology-specific targets are mentioned:
|
2010 |
2015 |
| Wind power |
2.2% |
5.4% |
| Biomass |
2.5% |
3.0% |
| Other renewables (landfill gas and hydropower) |
0.4% |
0.5% |
According to the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy
from renewable sources the target for the share of energy from
renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy in the year 2020
for Estonia is 25% (in the year 2005 the share was 16.6%). The
Directive has a mandatory 10 % target for transport to be achieved by
all Member States, which refers to renewable sources as a whole, not
biofuels alone.
In
Estonia a system is in place where the grid operator is obliged to buy
the renewable power, and is also responsible for paying the fee
(feed-in tariff or subsidy) to the RES-operator. The system was revised
thoroughly in May 2007. In the new situation the RES-E operator has
the choice to sell its power to the grid operator at a fixed price
(feed-in tariff of EEK 1.16, approximately 0.074 €/kWh; start of
operation 2007-2009), or to
apply for a subsidy (at an amount of EEK
0.85, approximately 0.054 €/kWh; start of operation 2010) and
to sell its power separately to a client. The
schemes are constrained in time: they apply up to the year 2015.
Offering the possibility to sell the electricity separately is meant to
increase revenues for RES-operators. The feed-in tariffs and the
subsidy tariffs are both set by the Electricity Market Act (EMA). The
final consumers
are charged and bear the costs of the system. The payment period of
instruments is limited to a maximum of 12 years, beginning at the date
a power plant is commissioned. The feed-in tariff and feed-in premium
are constant for the whole period.
Furthermore,
Estonia receives financial means from the EU budget for Structural
Funds, implemented through the Estonian National Development Plan
(NDP). Reducing environmental impact of the energy sector, improving
efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy are goals.
During the period of 2004 to 2006, the Centre approved 14 renewable
energy projects and paid out grants totalling approximately €2.7
million. For the period 2007 to 2013, the National Strategic Reference
Framework (NSRF) has been announced, which has a focus on investments
for flexible (RES) cogeneration plants and grid connection
infrastructure. Other investment subsidy schemes available to RES-E
come from funds originating from other Western European countries:
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Renewable energy projections according to the National Renewable Energy Action Plan for Estonia
The
National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) for Estonia was submitted
in December 2010. The target according to Annex I of Directive
2009/28/EC is 25% for the year 2020 and the projected NREAP share in
that year exactly matches the target. According to the
projection, the most important contribution in the year 2020 is
expected from biomass (renewable heating and cooling) (607 ktoe, 70% of
all renewable energy). Second important contribution is expected from
wind power (1.5 TWh or 132 ktoe, 15% of all renewable energy). The
third largest contribution is from biodiesel (renewable transport) (51
ktoe, 6% of all renewable energy). Wind power contributes with 0.7 GW
(1.5 TWh) in the year 2020 (onshore wind 0.4 GW and 1.0 TWh, offshore
wind 0.3 GW and 0.6 TWh). No solar PV nor solar thermal is projected
for 2020. The two most important biofuels are projected to contribute
51 ktoe (biodiesel) and 38 ktoe (bioethanol / bio-ETBE) by 2020. For
solid biomass and biogas no projections have been made in the Estonian
Action Plan.
RES – Electricity : PV
In
Estonia, all installed PV systems are stand-alone used in locations far
from the grid, especially in small islands. All Estonian standalone
lighthouses and sea marks have PV electricity supply. A special
governmental support for PV electricity is
lacking. The Nordic geography, unfavorable radiation situation and lack
of FIT for PV make Estonia not a beneficial country for investors
willing to start up PV energy business. Currently there are awareness
raising activities in place aiming at Estonian governmental
administration to understand the benefits of PV power generation and a
need for FIT. This persuasion process, however, takes time before the
outcome becomes tangible.
No tax incentives apply to
RES-E. A system of green certificates is in operation on a voluntary
basis as of 2001, introduced by Estonian Energy AS and the Estonian
Fund for Nature. Also, environmental charges are collected, regulated
by the Environmental Charges Act (ECA).
There is no specific PV programme in Estonia. Also, tbere is no target
for the share of PV in electricity generation in the timeframe 2010 -
2020.
Future programme changes
expected
An
ecological tax reform was initiated in Estonia in 2005, and is to be
carried out by 2013. In the energy sector, one of the priorities of
ecological tax reform is to promote renewable energy and the production
of RES-E in particular. Furthermore, no new information is available
for the coming years.
Sources
Imbi Jürgen, Tark & Co, Estonia, I.E.L.T.R. ISSUE 10, 2007
Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications,
http://www.mkm.ee (sourced September 2008)
PV status report 2008, Joint Research Centre, ISBN: 978-92-79-10122-9, European Communities, 2008
Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable
sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC
and 2003/30/EC (Entry into force on June 25th, 2009), download from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32009L0028:EN:NOT
Renewable energy policy; country profiles (Re-Shaping). Based on information available in October 2009, http://www.reshaping-res-policy.eu, 2009
The National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) are all published on the Transparency Platform on Renewable Energy: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/transparency_platform/action_plan_en.htm (sourced July - December 2010)
Renewable Energy Projections as Published in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans of the European Member States, http://www.ecn.nl/nreap (sourced December 2010)
Interactive EurObserv’ER Database
http://www.eurobserv-er.org
Last update: March 2011
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Database, http://www.eurobserv-er.org (date of last update)'
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