Riigikogu committee fails to find clarity on offshore wind support scheme yet again
The Ministry of Climate did not clarify before the Riigikogu Anti-Corruption Select Committee how subsidies for offshore wind farms will be allocated. Calculations will be included in the explanatory memorandum of the Electricity Market Act, but the final subsidy amounts will not be specified there either, as these will be decided separately by the government.
The Ministry of Climate reiterated to the Riigikogu Anti-Corruption Select Committee the renewable energy decisions previously confirmed by the three coalition leaders. According to these decisions, the Estonian state is willing to pay a total of €2.6 billion in subsidies to offshore wind farm developers, with a maximum support rate of €65 per megawatt-hour.
However, how exactly the subsidies will be distributed remained unclear.
"The honest answer is that it did not become any clearer. /.../ The coalition parties stated that these calculations are fully public and that there is nothing more to disclose. However, the Ministry of Climate did confirm that when the bill is introduced, the explanatory memorandum will include the basis for these calculations," said energy expert Arvi Hamburg.
"The calculation methods, which are actually superficial, do not reveal the final cost to taxpayers. /.../ Where is the transparency? How are such decisions made? How is it possible that there was no debate in the Riigikogu, and instead, we are simply told that the law is only now being drafted?" said Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, chair of the Riigikogu committee.
Rein Vaks, head of the Ministry of Climate's energy department, stated that while the explanatory memorandum of the Electricity Market Act has been updated, not all calculations will be included.
"It is still the €65 per megawatt-hour corridor, but the specific floor and ceiling figures are not included in the current draft law. This should be decided by the government in April, when the Ministry of Climate presents the tendering procedure to the government," Vaks said.
According to Hamburg, the committee discussion revealed that the wind farm tender decision will be made within the next month. In his view, this makes further work on the ongoing Energy Economy Development Plan pointless. Additionally, no socioeconomic analysis is planned.
"I am not at all satisfied with the claim that we will invest two and a half billion and get €5 billion in return. My question is: how exactly will we gain that? And the answer I get is that electricity prices will go down. Well, unfortunately, they won't," said Hamburg.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Merili Nael
