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State supports implementation of ten energy storage pilot projects

Funding decision
Päikesepaneelid Image: Pexels

EIC provided EUR 5.2 million in funding for ten pilot energy storage projects. Utilitas Tallinn, Utilitas Estonia, Sunly Solar, Prategli Invest, Five Wind Energy, and Eesti Energia each received a grant to begin implementing renewable energy storage device projects across Estonia.

‘Estonia’s plan is to produce 100% of its annual electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2030. Renewable energy is good for the consumer and gives businesses a competitive advantage through a smaller environmental footprint. Renewable energy requires a balance between storage and manageable capacities in the system. In terms of the climate, the creation of storage capacity is a good way to increase clean and affordable energy production,’ says Climate Minister Kristen Michal.  

Kristjan Kalda, the EIC’s Project Coordinator for Energy, explains that by supporting the installation of storage devices, we are helping to accelerate development of the energy storage market. ‘The ten pilot projects that have received a grant will also show other interested parties whether the storage devices can be used and how,’ says Kalda.

Support was granted to three projects for the construction of storage devices to store heat produced from renewable energy sources. AS Utilitas Eesti received a grant of EUR 660,000 for the construction of heat storage devices for the central boiler houses in Jõgeva and Rapla. AS Utilitas Tallinn received a grant of EUR 675,000 to build a heat storage device next to the Tallinn Power Plant and increase the use of renewable energy in Tallinn’s integrated district heating network. Heat storage devices are large hot water storage tanks that are heated during low-demand periods, with the stored heat used to cover peak loads.

Seven projects for the storage of electricity from renewable sources received support, five of which will begin to store solar energy. Sunly Solar OÜ received a grant for four projects. The Mario solar farm pilot project in the Village of Vahi, in Tartu County, received a grant in the amount of EUR 360,000, and the Metsaviha project, in the Village of Laukna, in Rapla County, received EUR 288,000. In Jõgeva County, the Norm project, in the Village of Aidu, received a grant in the amount of EUR 360,000 and the Kasepargi project, in the Village of Vägari, received EUR 216,000. The pilot projects will create the capacity to store renewable electricity, allowing it to be fed into the grid in a controlled manner. OÜ Prategli Invest is building a solar energy storage device in Tallinn, where it will store energy from a solar farm production plant located on the roof of a warehouse complex. The project received a grant of EUR 273,500.

Two projects will begin to store both solar and wind energy. Five Wind Energy OÜ was awarded a EUR 720,000 grant to set up a battery storage system for wind and solar energy in Saaremaa. The storage devices will help ensure the stability of the electricity grid and the use of renewable energy in the work of Baltic Workboats AS. Eesti Energia AS was awarded a grant of EUR 1 million to build a  4MW/8MWh battery storage system at the Purtse wind and solar hybrid farm, in Ida-Viru County. All of the projects that were awarded grants can be found on the EIC website.

Companies registered in Estonia, which own a renewable energy production unit and are not prohibited by law from owning or operating an energy storage device, were eligible to apply for a grant. Grants were awarded for the installation of heat storage devices by heat companies, and electricity storage facilities by businesses.

The grant funds originate from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and the grant was developed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications in cooperation with the EIC.