Total electricity consumption in Estonia amounted to 7.8 terawatt-hours in 2011, an amount 2 percent smaller than in the year before, the transmission system operator Elering said on Friday.

Estonia remains a major gross exporter of electricity, as the amount of electricity generated during the year exceeded consumption by 45 percent, it said.

Full-year electricity consumption declined year on year in all the Baltic and Nordic countries as a result of the warm winter. In Estonia the consumption of electricity, which had moved up in the years in-between, fell back to the level of 2006.

During the year 11.4 terawatt-hours of electricity was generated in Estonia, one percent more than in 2010. Amounts generated from oil shale declined by 2 percent or 0.2 terawatt-hours, whereas the amount generated using renewable sources grew by almost one-third or by 0.3 terawatt-hours, with the share of biomass fueled generation and wind energy increasing the most.

In 2011 the only countries in the Baltic and Nordic region generating more electric energy than they consumed were Estonia, Sweden and Norway. In the Baltic countries combined electricity production declined 7 percent year on year, the rates of decline being 11 percent in Latvia and 19 percent in Lithuania.

At the same time, there was no shortage of installed capacities in the Baltic countries in 2011. The aggregate net capacity of power generating units was 8.7 gigawatts, which would have allowed to cover the Baltics’ consumption needs.

In Latvia the decline was the result of reduced output by hydro power plants. The cascade of power plants on Daugava River produced 18 percent less electric energy than a year ago. In the 12 months domestic output covered 82 percent of Latvia’s consumption needs and deficit emerged at 1.2 terawatt-hours.

In Lithuania own generating output covered just 36 percent of consumption and deficit was 13 percent bigger than in 2010, mainly as a result of opportunities of import from third countries.

Electricity trade was influenced also by increased output of cheaper hydro power in the Nordic countries, Elering said. Estonia’s exports to Finland decreased the most, whereas the share of the electricity exported to Latvia and Lithuania grew 30 percent. Exports to Latvia accounted for 39 percent of Estonia’s total exports in 2011, exports to Finland for 33 percent and exports to Lithuania for 28 percent.

Of Estonia’s total imports import from Latvia made up 46 percent, import from Finland 31 percent and import from Lithuania 23 percent. Year on year, the amounts of electricity bought from Finland grew whereas the share of imports from Latvia moved down.

Offshore wind energy is an innovative new industry, which by creating thousands of jobs and intensive investments gives Europe a necessary impulse for economic growth. It can also provide the missing pieces in the energy and climate puzzle that Europe needs to solve urgently. What I brought home from EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 – the world’s largest offshore wind energy event – was the feeling that the next decade will be crucial for bringing down the costs and filling some gaps to make this type of energy production a really competitive one. 

The EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 conference started with a live broadcast from a Dutch offshore wind farm by Sarah Azau who in spite of heavy wind and seas courageously reported how high-tech the industry has become and how for example the Far and Large Offshore Wind innovation program (FLOW) has been activated to decrease costs. During the following three days in Amsterdam it was discussed and shown in the conference that the turbines and ambitious projects are there, the necessary legislations are set and money for good and well-prepared projects is also available. But various speakers and also the newly-launched EWEA report “Wind in our Sails” stressed the importance of growth in electrical infrastructure, substructures, vessels, and ports. 

This is a wake-up call for all of us including traditionally non-wind energy industry countries who have so far only admired the contributions and achievements of Germany, Spain and Denmark in the wind energy sector. Offshore wind energy is the answer to so many questions and more countries are expected to commit their knowledge, capacity and experiences to boost this industry. Estonia’s offshore wind farms may be in the early development stage but I am glad that our industry has already made its move. For example an Estonian company BLRT Marketex, one of the members of Estonian Wind Power cluster, announced on the first day of EWEA’s Offshore 2011 that they will deliver a UK vessel operator for wind farm catamarans available for offshore wind energy projects throughout Europe.

The business opportunities are not only for vessels, but also for foundations and ports. For example, even though the tendency seems to be that components are exported directly from the manufacturing facilities to offshore wind farms, the EWEA report also writes that the competitive advantage of Eastern Europe ports can change or slow down this this trend. It is now up to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to decide whether to take this opportunity into the next level. If the competitiveness of offshore wind energy gains from this then it would be a great loss not to.

Everybody knows the symbols of Paris and Sydney – Eiffel Tower and Opera House. And today everybody also knows the symbol of clean energy – a wind turbine. These symbols are easy to draw and therefore easy to remember and people relate them to emotions and values. These values and emotions are not actually in the symbol but through cultural impressions we associate these values with the symbol.

All three mentioned symbols have something in common – they were all originally hated. The architect of Sydney’s Opera House – Jorn Oberg Utzon had to go into exile on Mallorca. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel had to construct a tower that could be disassembled one year after the world fair. Today both the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower are two of the most recognised and beloved landmarks in the world. “They are the most common, beautiful and loved symbols we have. Perhaps and hopefully the same will happen with wind power,” said Werner.

Werner, who usually focuses his work on portrayals of architecture, told that he started to be intrigued by wind power as a photographic subject during the production of a wall calendar themed with Carl Linneaus journey’s through Southern Sweden. “The works were geographically restricted to the southern part of Sweden and for one of the months we wanted an image of an old wind mill. The problem was that there was only one 300 year old wind mill was still standing in Skåne and that was in the middle of a small city. The conclusion was that it is better to use something totally new and therefore we set out to take a beautiful image of a modern “wind mill,”” explained Werner.

From a photographer’s point of view powerful and simple shapes are great elements in landscape images. Werner described wind turbine’s vertical lines as powerful and engaging whereas horizontal ones compel as calm and orderly. Tilted lines like the ones in the rotor of a wind turbine are dynamic and convey movement. He also said that even though a great image needs a subject it is more important that a great image conveys values and emotions beyond what’s literally in the image. As with the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower a great image communicates and conveys emotions and values in several ways.

Werner Nystrand was born in the 80’s and grew up in a very tightly inhabited agricultural part of Sweden. For his entire life wind power plants have been part of the surrounding landscapes and he says they are as natural as a farm or planted trees for him so there is nothing new or strange with them. “It is just the matter of time and acceptance”, noted the photographer who described wind turbines as graceful, sleek and modern. “I find their movement graceful. It is a symbol of purity and the greener, better future that is actually happening today,” expressed Werner.

Werner Nystrandiga saab kontakti aadressil: werner@nystrandphotography.com

Renewable energy accounted for 13 percent of electricity consumption in Estonia in the third quarter of this year, up by five percentage points compared to the same period last year.

The amount of renewable energy produced in the third quarter was 208 gigawatt-hours, representing a year-on-year increase of more than half, the transmission system operator Elering said.

Of the three-month output of renewable energy, 67 percent was generated from waste and biomass, 31 percent was wind energy and 2 percent was hydroelectric energy.

Looking at the present figures, Estonia is this year already very close to the target of raising the share of electricity produced from renewable sources to 15-20 percent of consumption by 2020, Elering CEO Taavi Veskimagi said.

The share of renewable energy surpassed 10 percent last year.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYiHeSPNfP0

Two-day Wind Energy Conference in Tallinn starts tomorrow, on the 20th of October. More than 20 experts step up to speak about wind power, more than half of them come from abroad. Estonian Wind Power Association is glad that its 10th anniversary is celebrated with the first international conference dedicated to wind energy in Estonia. The event is organized in cooperation with the Swedish Wind Energy Association (SVIF) and supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

The conference will be opened by the Ambassador of Sweden - H.E. Mr. Jan Palmstierna , Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee in the Parliament of Estonia - Kaja Kallas, President of the Swedish Wind Power Association - Fredrik Lindahl and Chairman of the Board of Estonian Wind Power Association - Martin Kruus. During two days the social, visual and economical aspects of wind energy are discussed and the conference will culminate with the topic most debated in Estonia currently - why and how much should wind energy be supported.

Estonia’s Ministry of Economy and Communications has brought out a bill to halve the renewable energy charge by 2013, the daily Postimees says.

The renewable energy charge stands at 0.73 cents per kilowatt-hour this year. If the ministry’s plan to cut it is implemented the charge will be half smaller in two years’ time.

Consumers at present support the production of electricity from wood, water and wind with a direct subsidy of 5.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. In the first eight months of this year electricity producers have received 32 million euros in support.

The ministry’s plan would make the size of support dependent on the free market price of electricity. In that case hydroelectric power plants and the Tallinn, Tartu and Parnu cogeneration plants would be entitled to a subsidy of 7.4 cents minus the free market price. Support for wind turbines would be 8.6 cents and for the oil shale-fired Narva power plants, 5.2 cents minus the free market price.

The ministry hopes the bill will reach parliament at the beginning of next year and the cuts take effect at the start of 2013 along with full opening of the electricity market.

Last year the ministry suggested that the new rate of support should be 6.4 cents minus the free market price of electricity.

Another aim of the bill is to set a ceiling on renewable energy generation. In January-August 800 gigawatt-hours of electricity was produced from renewable sources. The bill caps annual output of renewable energy entitled to support at 1,200 GWh.

In the paper’s view this means that once the national power company Eesti Energia’s new wind farm in Narva goes into operation the annual quantity will be full and there will not be room for new projects.

True, the bill gives the government permission to raise the ceiling but only in case electricity consumption in Estonia grows for some reason faster than forecast.

The Estonian State Audit Office says there’s no certainty about it that the European Commission will permit Estonia to give a carbon emission quota to the state-owned energy group Eesti Energia for free. 

The State Audit Office described in its annual report the originally planned state aid scheme for a new oil shale fueled power plant of Eesti Energia and Estonia’s withdrawal in June this year of its application for permission to give state aid.

After criticism of the state aid application by the European Commission Estonia decided to support the construction of new oil shale fueled power generating units through free carbon emissions quota. Free emission credits would leave in the hands of Eesti Energia the money it would otherwise have to spend to buy the credits in an auction. “Thus we are effectively still speaking about state support,” the State Audit Office said.

An investment using free quota must modernize electricity production to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and must not bring with itself unjustified distortions to competition. According to the State Audit Office building of a new oil shale fueled generating unit may not fulfill these goals and therefore it isn’t sure that the Commission will permit Estonia to support electricity producers by handing out free quota.

The State Audit Office also pointed out that while there was still no decision by the Commission and it remained unclear from what sources construction of the new power plant would be financed, Eesti Energia had started construction of the plant with the government’s approval and was awaiting the state’s support for the investment.

The original state aid scheme that Estonia took back would have brought Eesti Energia support in the amount of up to 953 million euros. The new proposal based on free quota would give the power company about 300 million euros.

The new power plant of Eesti Energia will cost about a billion euros. Construction of the plant’s first generating unit has been decided while the decision about unit no. 2 has to be made next year.

Construction of turbine foundations is about to begin on wind farms of Estonia’s state-owned power company Eesti Energia and 4Energia on the northwestern peninsula of Pakri, Eesti Energia announced.

The companies are going to put up 18 wind turbines with a capacity of 2.5 megawatt each of which nine belong to Eesti Energia and nine to 4Energia. The foundations will be built and the turbines assembled by the international turbine producer GE Energy.

Both wind farms will have a total generating capacity of 22.5 megawatt and annual generation is estimated to amount to 67 gigawatt- hours.

Eesti Energia, 4Energia and GE Energy signed the contracts for building wind farms on the Pakri peninsula in June. The wind farms are to be completed in summer 2012.

When considering financing of energy projects banks attach importance to a stable and supporting regulatory system, it appears from a survey by KPMG.

Banks interviewed by KPMG expressed concern over retroactive regulation which undermines carefully prepared business models and has the potential to ruin projects. “Project financing possibilities are improved by legally binding confirmation that retroactive regulation which would affect financing schemes after the signing of contracts will be avoided,” partner at KPMG Baltics OU Taivo Epner said.

It is estimated that the European power sector will require approximately 1.9 trillion euros in investment over the next 25 years to satisfy the growing demand for power and meet the increasingly tight environmental requirements. In the next 15 years around 600 gigawatt of new power plant capacity will have to be commissioned which requires around one trillion euros in funding.

Although western Europe will account for most of the added capacity, the growing need for energy in central and eastern Europe requires relatively more investment in new capacities to replace the aging infrastructure. Energy consumption in central and eastern Europe is seen growing 2.1 percent annually compared to 1.3 percent growth in western Europe.

Most of the interviewed banks emphasized the importance of a stable and supporting regulatory system for project financing. It is a key requirement among lenders that governments should deepen trust in the sector and provide clear guidance on the basis of their support for a specific project or technology, said Peter Kiss, global head of power and utilities at KPMG.