Eesti Energia invests more than €100 million in renewables in nine months
In the first nine months of 2022, Estonian state-owned energy group Eesti Energia has invested a combined €105.2 million in new wind farms and solar parks — five times more than during the same period last year, the company said.
The energy group invested €52 million in renewable energy in the third quarter alone, according to a press release.
"The solution to the energy crisis is being provided by new renewable energy production units that generate more affordable electricity, the establishment of which is boosted by the company's profitability and rapid growth in Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland," Eesti Energia CFO Andri Avila said.
"Our largest investments in the third quarter were made through our renewable energy company Enefit Green specifically for the construction of new wind farms and solar parks in order to bring more affordable and environmentally friendly electricity to the market," he added.
The group's largest investments, made through listed renewables subsidiary Enefit Green, included €5.6 million in Tolpanvaara, €19.2 million in Šilale, €8.7 million in Akmene and €3.4 million in Purtse. An additional €2.7 million was invested in the development of the solar park in Purtse and €2.9 million in the development of the solar park in Zambrow.
"These facilities will cover the annual electricity consumption of more than 200,000 households," Avila highlighted, adding that the first of these is slated to begin production of reasonably priced electricity for the market in the first quarter of next year.
In order to develop the network and enable micro-production, the network company Elektrilevi also increased its net investments by one fifth in the third quarter, totaling €31.8 million.
Eesti Energia's nine-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) more than doubled on year to €299.9 million, according to financial results released last week. The group's nine-month net profit reached €111.9 million, up from a net loss of €12.3 million on year, with sales revenue totaling more than €1.62 billion.
Eesti Energia plans to invest nearly €2.5 billion over the 2022-2026 period, most of which is slated to be in the construction of new wind farms and solar parks in the group's home markets.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Aili Vahtla
