Speaking on the morning show "Terevisioon," Minister of Energy and Environment Andres Sutt said Estonia's National Energy and Climate Plan (ENMAK 2035) has three main goals: to ensure energy security, to boost the country's competitiveness by lowering electricity prices and to support the transition to a clean energy economy.

"The latter isn't some kind of ideological choice — having a smaller environmental footprint is simply a competitive advantage. If we look at what's happening globally, the biggest investments are being made in clean energy — whether it's renewables or nuclear," Sutt said.

According to the minister, nuclear energy is part of Estonia's energy plan, but if a nuclear plant is built, it's unlikely to be producing electricity by 2035.

Asked whether there would be no more smoke-belching oil shale plants operating in Estonia by 2035, Sutt said that could be considered a safe assumption.

"Oil shale plants will remain necessary only as long as we lack other dispatchable capacity. But for example, Elering has already announced a tender and selected winners to develop such controllable capacity. And looking at prices, last year's electricity price was the lowest it's been in the past five years," he added.

Terrestrial wind farms the best option

Sutt said Estonia needs new generation capacity and onshore wind is the fastest, most efficient and cost-effective way to achieve that.

When asked how to overcome local opposition to onshore wind farms, Sutt stressed that no one intends to override community concerns.

"The local community needs to see that they benefit from the project. In other words, if a wind farm is built in a given municipality, it should be advantageous for the people living there. This is a joint effort involving the state, developers, local governments and the communities themselves," he said.

According to Sutt, the problem isn't a lack of developers or funding, but rather the resistance at the local level.

"Some of it is political — some municipalities have stated, even after local elections, that there will be no wind farms in their jurisdiction. If that's the decision of the council, then that's how it is. But there are also many municipalities willing to consider it and some that are already on board. We'll see if there's anything more we can offer local communities to turn opposition into support."

New reverse auction in Q1 of 2026

Responding to a question about how to attract investors to develop wind farms and whether the state plans to offer any incentives, Sutt said another auction still needs to be carried out.

"Preparations have been made and hopefully we'll reach that point in the first quarter of this year. That will provide a certain level of investment certainty. I believe we'll also get to a point where energy prices fluctuate less, meaning lower peaks, no negative pricing and a narrower range overall," he explained.

The minister added that from a developer's perspective, the focus isn't just on wind farms. The most profitable model right now is to combine wind, solar and storage at a single grid connection point.

"More and more projects like that are being developed. It's especially beneficial if a major consumer can be brought in to purchase directly. All of this increases investment security," he said.

Addressing future electricity prices and the goal of keeping them competitive with neighboring countries by 2035, Sutt claimed that, compared to Finland, Estonian household consumers currently pay less.

"It's large consumers who pay more and that's an area we need to address. We need to bring prices down for large consumers as well. That all starts with boosting local energy production and right now the fastest and most efficient option is onshore wind. But I also believe offshore wind and nuclear energy have their place in Estonia's energy mix. That's why we've prepared legislation on nuclear energy and nuclear safety, which will soon be introduced in the Riigikogu. Altogether, these measures will help bring prices down," he said.

Sutt acknowledged that people naturally want to know what electricity will cost tomorrow, in three months or in three years.

Investments need €15 billion

"One option for households is to purchase a fixed-price electricity package," Sutt said. "But no one has a crystal ball to say what the price will be in three months or three years. That's why we haven't included a specific price level in the national energy plan. Instead, we've set a goal for the final energy price in all consumer groups in Estonia to be below the average of the Baltic Sea region. And that's the direction we're firmly moving in."

Sutt said that if the full ambition outlined in the energy plan is realized — excluding the nuclear power plant and long-term pumped storage project, both of which are likely to land on either side of 2035 — the overall investment will be in the range of €15 billion.

"This would be the largest investment plan in Estonia over the next ten years and would contribute to economic growth and exports," he said. "We used to be energy exporters. I believe we can get back to that. And the bulk of this funding will come from private capital. Right now, we're paying to import electricity. The more we can produce ourselves, the more jobs we create, the more we drive economic growth and, ultimately, the more we can bring down electricity prices," Sutt promised.

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