Estonia criticised for wind‑farm planning and electricity market scheme

Minister Jaak Aab warned that Estonia needs only about ten to fifteen well‑planned on‑shore wind parks, not the 7,000 MW of projects that have been proposed. He said the state has failed to produce a clear national spatial plan or energy strategy, leaving local authorities and developers to scramble for sites and creating public fear that the country will be filled with turbines.

At the same time, the Estonian power market has been described as a state‑run financial mechanism. Consumers pay for a virtual right to emit CO₂ linked to the output of the state‑owned Eesti Energia’s Narva coal plant, and the Nord Pool price‑cap model forces them to cover the highest production cost even when cheaper imports are used. The revenue is routed back to Eesti Energia and the grid operator Elering for new projects, effectively turning households into forced investors in the electricity system.