Collective self-consumers

In Estonia, apartment  associations may divide and sell  electricity to apartments, specifically as “a  non-profit organization who sells and conveys electricity to its members solely for the purpose of supplying electricity to  the apartments, cottages, garages or private dwelling houses which the members own or occupy” (Estonian Parliament 2019). Such CSC schemes are possible if apartment associations have just one contract and electrical connection with the DSO and divide the electricity internally by using sub meters.

Source: Frieden et al., 2020

RECs and CECs

The Estonian government is testing the concept of energy associations since 2013 and sees strong overlaps with the concepts of renewable energy communities, thus providing a basis for renewable energy communities (Estonian Government 2019). In Estonia, an energy association means a joint community activity with the purpose of generating, distributing or selling electrical energy and heat to their members through their own equipment for self-consumption, i.e., the electrical energy and heat is generated and distributed within the community. For the generation of decentralised renewable energy, the owners (at  least  to the extent  of 50%) are operators or citizens, local initiatives, communities, local governments, charity  or non-governmental organisations, agricultural producers, associations or SMEs that create local value that may remain in the region. Next to renewable electricity, Estonia mentions the high potential to create heating associations (Estonian Government 2019).

In September 2021 the Estonian government  adopted an to the Electricity Market Act, which promotes the creation of energy communities, obliges network operators to purchase flexibility services from the market and regulates the ownership relations of distribution network operators and electric car charging  infrastructure.