According to Statistics Estonia, power plants produced 8 910 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity and 5 074 GWh of heat in 2022. Compared with the year before, electricity production increased by 21% and heat production by 8%.
Helle Truuts, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the amount of electricity generated from oil shale rose by 42% in a year, accounting for more than half (57%) of the total electricity production. In 2021, electricity generated from oil shale represented 49% of the total electricity produced. The amount of electricity generated from oil shale gas also increased – by 14%.
“Less electricity was produced from other fuels than in 2021.
Global developments had a major impact on fuel prices
last year, which in turn affected the shares of fuels used for power generation. In 2022, the cost of most fuels went up,“ said Truuts.
16% of electricity was produced in cogeneration, which allows for a more economical use of fuel. Combined heat and power (CHP) plants produce electricity and heat from a variety of fuels. The largest contribution to energy production, measured in terajoules, came from wood fuel.
CHP plants produced 1 394 GWh of electricity and 4 382 GWh of heat.
The amount of electricity generated from renewable sources remained at the 2021 level and accounted for 33% of total electricity production. More than half (52%) of the renewable energy came from wood. The amount of electricity generated from both wind energy and wood fuel fell by nearly 10% year on year. The biggest growth (68%) in renewable energy production was seen in solar energy, which accounted for 20% of the renewable energy generated in 2022.