Estonia needs its own gas power plant: Gas association

Estonia needs its own gas-fired power plant in order to help cover peak consumption and the intermittency of renewable generation, chief executive of the Estonian Gas Association Heiko Heitur said.

"Today, when we are talking about the possibility of limiting electricity use during peak hours, it is high time to put a plan of action in place. For the last 10 years, interconnections have been built in Estonia, now it is time to start building managed generation capacity," Heitur said.

Grid operator Elering forecasts that shale oil plants will become uneconomical and close in about five years, while a nuclear plant would not be ready for a minimum of 12 years, Heitur said. Therefore, in the meantime, a gas plant could help Estonia to "survive", and when energy demand increases, it will support renewable and nuclear production.

"Estonia needs more controllable capacity in both the short and long term. The price of gas will go down and new supply routes from the west will be put in place," he said, adding that it would also give a positive impetus to the development of hydrogen technologies, as well as the use of green gas produced from bio-waste.

Alexela interested but needs guarantees

Infrastructure holding firm Alexela is interested in building a gas power plant in Estonia, but needs clear guarantees from the state before starting any work, the firm's chief executive Marti Haal said.

Alexela "cannot imagine" how Estonia's energy system could be balanced without a gas-fired power plant, Haal said, but the firm needs direct guarantees from the state that its construction would be desired. Pointing to the recent dispute between Elering and Alexela, which currently means the Paldiski LNG terminal will remain empty, "the state still needs to have a clear document saying that it is needed", and should create a "priority list of what is needed for our energy system in the future", he said, adding: "Then steps can be taken. Today there is no plan."

Construction would take around two years after the planning phase has been completed, although the length of planning processes such as the environmental impact assessment are not well defined in Estonia, Haal said. The size of the investment required will depend on how big the plant is, but roughly speaking it would cost about €1mn ($1mn) per MW.

By Brendan A'Hearn