Energy, Estonia, Financial Services, Legislation

In addition, the development plan includes increasing the efficiency of energy consumption, increasing the share of renewable energy in Estonia's energy supply, diversifying supply sources on the gas market and reducing the number of consumers' power shortages, spokespeople for the government said.

Estonia has to focus increasingly more on environmentally friendly production and consumption. "Renewable energy is increasing year after year and today makes up about 30 percent of final consumption, but out ambitions are definitely bigger. Opportunities lie in diversified production, more environmentally friendly fuels as well as reducing consumption," he added.

To increase energy efficiency, reconstructing dwellings for making them more energy efficient as well as modernizing street lighting and district heating economy should be focused on. In renewable energy development the plan is to continue with present activities until 2030 with a goal of renewable energy amounting to 50 percent of electricity consumption by 2030 and 80 percent of district heating economy.

To reach these goals the biggest contribution has to come from the energy market, which means the tax environment, the energy market and the price of emitting greenhouse gases have to support renewable energy investments. National subsidizing in the renewable energy sector has to reduce to the minimum.

The state is planning to support making dwelling more energy efficient with 108.7 million euros in 2017-2020 and the total amount Estonia will direct into energy sector development during the period is 363 million euros, mainly assets of EU structural funds.

In other major areas Estonia is to direct 105.6 million euros into energy saving in manufacturing and street lighting, 48.9 million euros into the renovation of public sector buildings, 63.3 million euros into modernization of heat economy and 31.3 million euros into implementation of alternative energy sources in transport.

The national development plan of the energy sector until 2020 was adopted in the Riigikogu in June 2009.