Wednesday marked the beginning of a new era in Estonian renewable energy, Enefit Green management board chairman Aavo Kärmas said according to a press release.

"Enefit Green will be quadrupling its renewable energy production in the coming years," Kärmas said. "We are also preparing our next investment decision to build a wind farm in Sopi, Estonia. With new wind farms, significantly more environmentally friendly and affordable electricity will be provided to Estonians in the coming years, and the country's energy security will improve."

According to the board chairman, Purtse will make smart use of the fact that wind and solar energy complement one another.

"Purtse will be an innovation in wind and solar energy production," he said. "A hybrid solution using both methods for large-scale electricity production will be the first of its kind in Estonia. This will help save farm construction-related costs as well as use limited grid resources much more efficiently."

For consumers, he added, the advantage will be electricity prices, as each new renewable power plant helps make the market price of electricity more affordable.

Hando Sutter, chairman of Enefit Green's supervisory board and CEO of parent company Eesti Energia, also confirmed that the energy group is committed to renewables-based electrification as well as replacing fossil fuels with carbon-free electricity.

Favorable local conditions

Due to the energy shortage, the continued growth of electricity prices as well as increasing inflation, there has been more and more talk about the need for renewable energy and its share in general energy consumption, said Marja-Liisa Veiser, mayor of Lüganuse Municipality.

"Electricity production at wind farms and solar parks is more environmentally friendly and cheaper than in a fossil fuel-based energy industry," Veiser said, adding that increasing self-sufficiency and energy independence as well as reducing Estonia's environmental footprint are currently both equally important for the country.

"Ida-Viru County has very favorable conditions for wind energy production and prerequisites for building solar parks," she noted. "We want to be part of the green revolution and the solution to the energy crisis."

Located between the villages of Vainu and Matka, Enefit Green's new hybrid facility at Purtse will include five wind turbines and a solar park consisting of some 49,000 solar panels.

Purtse is slated to generate 78 gigawatt-hours of output, covering the annual consumption of a total of 24,000 households.

The wind farm will have a capacity of 21 megawatts, and the solar park of 32 megawatts.

Last March, Eesti Energia subsidiary Enefit Green acquired the development project for a wind farm in Purtse. The final investment decision was made this January, along with the beginning of construction. The investment decision for the solar park, construction of which has since begun as well was made this May.

The hybrid facility is slated to go from investment decision to electricity production in just 14 months.

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