First cooperative solar park in Estonia opens in Setomaa
A locally built solar park has opened in Obinitsa, Setomaa, making it Estonia's first community co-op renewable energy project.
The rooftop installation at the Southern Estonian Produce Processing Center will power the facility and is and is seen as a step toward expanding community-based energy nationwide, regional paper Lõuna-Eesti Postimees writes.
"We already knew energy prices would affect us, so putting this project together was actually quite easy," said energy co-op Oma Elekter lead Markus Männik, adding that the 15-member cooperative now has 62 kilowatts (KW) of solar panels, a 50-KW inverter and 50 KW of battery storage.
The project, supported by EU funding and regional partners, is part of a broader push for shared energy production across the Baltics and Nordics; a similar solar park is already under construction in Jõgeva County.
"Obinitsa is an excellent example of how cooperation should work," said Elis Vollmer of the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMÜ), calling the Setomaa energy co-op a model for other communities.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
