Estonia's sixth and last renewables reverse auction attracts nine bids
Elering received nine bids totaling nearly one terawatt-hour in its sixth and final renewable electricity auction.
The sixth state-organized auction aims to bring 990 gigawatt-hours of new renewable electricity to the market, enough to cover approximately 11–12 percent of Estonia's current annual electricity consumption, according to preliminary results from the auction organized by the Ministry of Climate and conducted by Elering.
A total of nine bids were submitted by seven companies. Bid prices ranged from €24.18 to €43.38 per megawatt-hour. The final number of successful bids will be determined after they are checked for compliance with the auction requirements.
Auction winners will receive support for the amount of electricity generation offered in their bids. The support will be paid for up to 12 years, at a maximum rate of €20 per megawatt-hour generated. No support will be paid when the exchange price of electricity during a 15-minute trading period exceeds €45 per megawatt-hour.
Elering will check all submitted projects for compliance with the auction terms. Once the compliance review is complete, Elering will identify the successful bids and submit a list of qualifying bidders to the Ministry of Climate by November 3 of this year.
The government is expected to approve the final auction results by the end of 2026.
Successful bidders must begin generating electricity by December 31, 2030.
"Electricity market data showed that during the first half of 2026, 71.7 percent of electricity generated in Estonia came from renewable sources, while renewable electricity covered 42.1 percent of Estonia's electricity consumption. Wind energy, however, accounted for just 23.6 percent of generation. The current renewable electricity auction, which is aimed at bringing more wind energy to the market, will help increase renewable energy generation and lower electricity prices in the fall and winter when wind energy production is higher than average," said River Tomera, head of Elextra, transmission system operator Elering's renewable energy unit.
Minister of Energy and the Environment Andres Sutt noted that, according to an analysis by TalTech, Estonia would be best suited to adding another 100–110 wind turbines.
The sixth renewable electricity auction is the last in the series and the largest in Estonia's history. The next onshore wind farms are expected to be developed on a market basis, without direct state subsidies, Sutt added.
--
Editor: Marko Tooming, Marcus Turovski
