Estonia: Enefit Green's Polish solar power plants showing good output

TALLINN - Enefit Green, subsidiary of the state-owned Estonian energy group Eesti Energia, saw electricity production of 64 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in July, of which most or 58 GWh was produced by wind farms located in Estonia and Lithuania, but very good production figures were also seen at the company's solar power plants, including the recently bought solar power plants in Poland.

By comparison, 64 GWh of electricity is enough to cover the electricity needs of more than 21,000 average-consumption households a year. "I am very pleased that the Polish solar power plants purchased with a transaction carried out in June have not disappointed us. Both reliability and the resulting production numbers have been very good. In addition, the sunshine conditions in the area have been better than expected," chairman of the management board of Enefit Green Aavo Karmas said.

At present, there are nine solar power plants producing an output in Poland and the July electricity production of the plants was 1,234 MWh. Another 11 solar power plants, the construction of which is in the final stage at present, should be added to the list in fall. The solar power portfolio of Enefit Green currently includes 26 MW worth of solar power plants in Estonia and Poland.

"I believe that solar power has come to stay. Enefit Green is taking serious steps toward increasing its solar power production volumes and developing that field," Karmas said.

Eesti Energia has set an objective to produce 45 percent of electricity from renewable and alternative sources by 2023 and the solar power plants in Poland fully support that goal.

Enefit Green is a renewable energy company owned by Eesti Energia, which produces electricity and heat in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from wind, water, biomass, biogas, mixed municipal waste and solar power. The company has the most diversified generation portfolio in the Baltic states.