Oil shale electricity production decreased last year
According to Statistics Estonia's data, Estonian power plants produced 5,686 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity and 4,323 GWh of heat in 2023. Compared with 2022, electricity production was down by 37% and heat production by 15%.
Helle Truuts, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the decline in electricity production was due to a significant drop in oil shale consumption. “The amount of electricity generated from oil shale fell by nearly 40% in a year, accounting only for a third of the total electricity production. In the previous year, 2022, more than half of the electricity was generated from oil shale,” Truuts pointed out.
Although the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources remained at the 2022 level, it accounted for half of the total electricity production. The largest share (46%) of renewable energy production came from wood. Wind and solar energy each accounted for nearly a quarter of renewable energy production. Year on year, solar power production increased the most – by 16%.
20% of electricity was produced in cogeneration, which allows for a more economical use of fuel. Combined heat and power (CHP) plants produced 1,167 GWh of electricity and 3,800 GWh of heat, but compared with the previous year, both electricity and heat production decreased – by 16% and 13%, respectively. CHP plants produce electricity and heat from a variety of fuels. The largest contribution to energy production, measured in terajoules, came from wood fuel.
See also the dedicated section on energy.
More detailed data have been published in the statistical database.
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For further information:
Heidi Kukk
Media Relations Manager
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)