Renewable energy accounted for 90% of Utilitas’ production in the third quarter

Companies of the energy group Utilitas produced 159 GWh of renewable energy in the third quarter of this year, which accounted for 90% of the group’s total energy production.

In total, Utilitas produced 177 GWh of energy in the third quarter, of which 93 GWh was heat and 84 GWh was electricity. Sales of district cooling continued to grow, increasing by a fifth compared to the same period last year.

In the third quarter of this year, the climate once again broke heat records. The summer months were the warmest in the history of measurement globally, and in Estonia, the highest average air temperature in history was measured in September: 15.6 degrees, which is 3.4 degrees above the long-term average.

“The consequences of using fossil fuels are here and the abandonment of their use should be the focus of all parties. Utilitas has already reduced the use of fossil fuels by 70% thanks to investments in the last decade, and by 2027 we want to bring their share down to less than 10% with the help of industrial heat pumps,” said Priit Koit, CEO of the Utilitas group.

Regarding the production of renewable electricity, Utilitas contributes by constructing new wind and solar power capacities: this year, Utilitas erected the most modern and most productive wind farm in Estonia in Saarde Parish, Pärnu County.

“We should not wait for new electricity capacities to be built in neighboring countries and import it from there. Also, our goal should not only be to produce electricity to export it. Renewable energy is a basic need for a modern economy, and our goal should be to use renewable electricity as an input to take our economy to the next level,” Koit added.