Public buildings must produce solar energy by 2027

  • 2024-11-27
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - Rooftop solar energy production will become compulsory for all new public buildings in Estonia in 2026, and the same requirement will start applying to existing ones a year later.

The installation of rooftop solar energy will be compulsory for all new public and commercial buildings with a useful floor area larger than 250 square meters by 2026, all existing public and commercial buildings with a useful floor area larger than 250 square meters by 2027, and all new residential buildings by 2029. The exception is buildings under heritage protection, where panels or solar roofs cannot be installed.

The solar energy strategy is part of the European Union’s REPowerEU plan to phase out Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the green transition in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to Andres Anijalg, CEO and co-founder of solar panel producer Roofit.Solar, the use of solar energy in public buildings is very effective, as their energy consumption is mostly concentrated during the daytime and therefore allows the electricity produced to be used immediately.

"For example, the newly renovated National Library uses approximately 84 percent of the electricity produced by the Roofit.Solar solar roof for its own needs. In comparison, private homes, without batteries, usually use only 18-30 percent of the electricity produced for their own needs," Anijalg said.

For example, the National Library's 542.72 square meter solar roof produces an average of 68,302 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year. For the same amount of kilowatt-hours, an electric car could drive 10 times around the world, or nearly 450,000 kilometers.

Since a large amount of the electricity produced is immediately consumed, equipping these buildings with solar panels or a solar roof is not only more sustainable, but also significantly shortens the payback period. However, it is true that when using solar energy, one must be aware of the fact that large public buildings are often older and therefore solar panels are often not allowed due to heritage conservation requirements.