There are particularly pl<strong>en</strong>tiful opportunities for constructing land-based wind farms in the formermining areas in Ida-Viru County, where the wind pot<strong>en</strong>tial is satisfactory and social conflicts andnature-conservation constraints are fewer. To develop this region, another air surveillance radarneeds to be installed for national-def<strong>en</strong>ce purposes, which would mitigate the curr<strong>en</strong>t constraints onthe location and height of wind turbines.Figure 10. Tr<strong>en</strong>ds in Estonia’s <strong>en</strong>ergy supply and network connections.TallinnJõhviNarvaKärdlaHaapsaluRaplaPaideRakvereJõgevaPärnuViljandiTartuKuressaarePõlva330 kV220kV110kVProposed emerg<strong>en</strong>cybackup power plantPower plantPreferred areas for constbasedwind farmsExercise area of EstonianArmy or NavyValgaVõruESTLINK1ESTLINK2Natural-gas pipelineIllustration: Veiko VeskiGrowth in opportunities to produce bio-<strong>en</strong>ergy will be furthered by exploiting biomass in heat andelectricity production on a broader scale, creating favourable economic conditions for exploitingbiofuel (including biogas) and increasing its utilisation in the transport sector.The diversification of the <strong>en</strong>ergy portfolio needs to focus above all on boosting the contribution fromlocal fuels.It is very important to improve the facilities for storing <strong>en</strong>ergy. Estonia needs to be active in investigatingstorage methods and implem<strong>en</strong>ting the relevant technology. For the purposes of a broader46
utilisation of local resources and the developm<strong>en</strong>t of micro-<strong>en</strong>ergy, priority is with the increasedutilisation of smart grids 8 and the creation of the appropriate infrastructure in households for consolidatingexcess <strong>en</strong>ergy into a single grid. This will also support dec<strong>en</strong>tralised <strong>en</strong>ergy production.Allocating resources to smart grids will produce the best result in economic terms if the technologyneeded for it is developed in Estonia.At the mom<strong>en</strong>t, it is economically effici<strong>en</strong>t and conceivable in terms of <strong>en</strong>ergy security to utiliseturbine power plants running on natural gas primarily as emerg<strong>en</strong>cy backup plants or for producingpeak <strong>en</strong>ergy. As units producing basic <strong>en</strong>ergy, they will be feasible only after an additional supplysource is created – for instance, the construction of an LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal in Estonia(in Paldiski or Muuga) or the connection of our natural-gas network to a single network shared withthe neighbouring nations. Biogas with a purity matching Estonian-produced bio-methane could alsobe supplied into the g<strong>en</strong>eral gas network.One of the future tr<strong>en</strong>ds in <strong>en</strong>ergy might be the construction of a nuclear power plant on the northcoast of Estonia. If it goes forward, the location of the nuclear power plant will be selected based ondedicated investigations, planning and an <strong>en</strong>vironm<strong>en</strong>tal impact assessm<strong>en</strong>t. A county or thematicplan will need to be initiated. Before a nuclear power plant is constructed, the risks of a majoraccid<strong>en</strong>t and its impact on settlem<strong>en</strong>t in Estonia and its neighbouring nations will need to beassessed.The productivity of a nuclear power plant will clearly exceed the needs of the internal market, as aresult of which the state will need to weigh up seriously the expedi<strong>en</strong>cy of the investm<strong>en</strong>ts to bemade, the load that will impact on external connections, security of supply, risks, dep<strong>en</strong>d<strong>en</strong>ce on asingle producer and so on. At the same time, the cost of the disposal of nuclear waste is not known.In a critical situation, the nuclear power plant may <strong>en</strong>tail a major risk and the need for an ext<strong>en</strong>siveevacuation of resid<strong>en</strong>ts.Curr<strong>en</strong>tly, heat <strong>en</strong>ergy is being produced from local fuels (wood, peat and other biomass) or importedfossil fuels (gas, liquid fuels and coal). Although the consumption of fossil fuels will remain significantin larger urban communities in the near future, the share of heat <strong>en</strong>ergy produced from local fuels andwaste (rubbish, wastewater and others) will increase. In areas with water-filled mine shafts, nearbodies of water and in areas with shifting groundwater, it would make s<strong>en</strong>se to consider utilisingEarth-heat pumps for supplying the heat needs of urban regions.To increase the effici<strong>en</strong>cy of the utilisation of heat <strong>en</strong>ergy, settlem<strong>en</strong>t structure, the compactness ofurban regions and multi-functionality need to be kept in mind. Considering these features will supply478 A smart grid is an electrical network that consolidates the behaviour and activity patterns of all the usersconnected to it in order to <strong>en</strong>sure a sustainable, economically effici<strong>en</strong>t and reliable electricity supply (Eurelectric).
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