On Monday, Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan proposed that instead of building a planned 100-megawatt gas power plant in Narva, the state should construct a 200-megawatt gas power plant near Tallinn, adjacent to the Iru cogeneration plant. He also sent a corresponding proposal to Minister of Climate Kristen Michal (Reform).

"From the perspective of public authorities, both at the state and municipal level, I believe that building the plant in Narva is the right decision. In addition to ensuring energy security, constructing a gas plant in Narva also addresses the city's district heating needs," Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski told ERR.

According to Ossinovski, Tallinn already has a gas power facility in the form of the Iru cogeneration plant and the city has its own ongoing district heating development plan.

"This plan is based on wood chips and, in the future, will rely on seawater heat pumps. Therefore, we have no need for a gas plant to supply heat in Tallinn," Ossinovski added.

The mayor noted that the only aspect of the government's current plan that requires further analysis is the fact that natural gas is both a fossil fuel and a resource that Estonia does not produce domestically.

"This means we would have to increase gas imports significantly to operate the new plant. However, we do have a rapidly developing biogas production capacity and I believe it is essential to evaluate whether the new gas plant, funded by the government, could use as much domestic biogas as possible. That would provide both environmental benefits and a boost to Estonia's economy, particularly in the agricultural sector," Ossinovski said.

Last week, the government agreed to increase Eesti Energia's share capital by €100 million to fund the construction of the Narva gas plant.

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