Minister: Offshore wind farm calculations changed each week

Estonia's energy plan fell through following flawed offshore wind calculations, Education Minister and Eesti 200 chair Kristina Kallas said.
Kallas has called for more accurate data and accountability, to ensure lower electricity prices and economic competitiveness, and also spoke of ministerial incompetence in coming up with the plan and its figures.
Last week's collapse of the national energy plan was the result of excessive calculations — seven incorrect ones instead of a single correct one, Kallas said, speaking to "Esimene stuudio" on Wednesday.
She said: "When the calculations change every week, that can be a problem."
"Each time the assumptions built into the calculations changed. This has made us in Eesti 200 very cautious about the information coming out of the Climate Ministry. We felt that we could not take responsibility for decisions based on those calculations," she continued.
Eesti 200, in coalition with the Reform Party, which holds the climate minister post in Yoko Alender, had initially strongly defended the energy plan.
Kallas added that: "The Climate Ministry has shown that without offshore wind, electricity production costs will not fall. To bring these down, a much larger volume of offshore wind is required. If onshore wind does not meet the required capacity, offshore wind must be planned to compensate."
On price, Kallas said: "The consumer's final price will be 15.9 cents per kilowatt-hour if offshore wind is included in the energy package by 2035."
The minister stressed that electricity prices have to fall in comparison with today's figures.
Without that, Estonia's economic competitiveness will suffer, she said. "Energy decisions must be based on calculations. This is a precise science, in which decisions should be based on figures and numbers, not ideology. We have also told the Social Democrats — if you are so strongly in favor of offshore wind, show us the calculations proving that it benefits Estonia," Kallas continued.
Neither current Climate Minister Yoko Alender nor her predecessor, current Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) is solely to blame for the confusion, however; Kallas said; the real issue lies with incompetent officials at ministry, but this could be fixed.
"The Climate Ministry should now gather the brightest minds from across the country and who do not work within the ministry to conduct these calculations. This energy plan, along with its calculations, could fit on a single A4 sheet," Kallas continued.
She also raised the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), and also referenced payscales as being a factor in not attracting talent.
"The public sector also needs an AI leap. There are plenty of tasks and activities which AI could handle," Kallas told "Esimene stuudio."
According to Kallas, the AI initiative for Estonian schools has great potential, as it is based on input from the president and entrepreneurs who understand what type of workers are needed.
Negotiations with global AI developers are in the early stages, with a three-million-euro investment going toward teacher training and educational materials supported by private companies.
"The project's success depends on whether teachers have the skills to use AI in the learning process and whether students' skills improve as a result," Kallas said.
"If you want quality legislation, much hinges on the quality of your specialists. People tend to leave for other jobs, while low wages lead to low-quality work. This is a worry."
Following a government meeting on February 6, Kallas told ERR that she now had the "full picture" on making energy plan decisions and that the Climate Ministry's calculations had been "comprehensive."
Last Thursday, the climate deal fell through after the government canceled up to €2.6 billion in state funding for offshore wind farms, citing unclear data and insufficient long-term planning for affordable, sustainable energy solutions.
On the same day Auditor General Janar Holm criticized the climate ministry, saying it had failed to provide sufficient information to the government on wind farm subsidies, and that the data which was presented provided no guarantee the planned decision will benefit Estonia's future energy costs or competitiveness.
On Wednesday the opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), the Center Party and Isamaa together proposed a cross-party no-confidence motion against Climate Minister Yoko Alender and proposed a committee to investigate the government's energy decisions.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mari Peegel
Source: 'Esimene stuudio,' interviewer Andres Kuusk.