On Thursday, the Estonian energy company Evecon and Mirova, an asset manager dedicated to sustainable finance, opened the largest solar park in the Baltics, located in Kirikmäe in Pärnu County. The production capacity of the Kirikmäe park, spread over nearly 110 hectares, is 77.53 MW, which is more than twice the capacity of the largest existing solar park in Estonia. It covers the estimated annual energy needs of 35,000 households. The Kirikmäe Park is owned by the Baltic Renewable Energy Platform (BREP), a joint venture set up by Evecon and Mirova in December 2022, for the financing, the construction, the operation of a portfolio of more than 100 MWp of Solar Parks in Estonia.
“The construction of the Kirikmäe solar park is a landmark event for the entire Baltic region due to the size of the production unit and the scale of the investment. Including the Imavere and Lohu mets solar parks, which were opened by Evecon and Mirova just a few days ago, more than 100 MW of production capacity will be added to the local market within one week. This represents about one-tenth of the total solar capacity currently produced in Estonia,” said Karl Kull, CEO of Evecon. “We would like to thank Mirova for the success of this project and also for trusting the Estonian renewable energy market.”
According to Karl Kull, the Kirikmäe solar park was completed in six months, which stakes a claim to the speed record in solar park construction. ‘After the preparation of the solar park site, Wiso Engineering started construction work in April this year. It was a large-scale construction project – there were 250 builders on site at its peak.’
“Evecon proposed a community benefit model to the municipality of Lääneranna in the form of a contract. This is a voluntary step by the company, as there is no provision for the payment of a tolerance fee in the case of solar energy production, as there is in the case of wind turbines. The municipality receives 0.6% of the revenues generated by the park,’ Karl Kull explained. ‘I also wish to thank the municipality of Lääneranna, with whom our affairs were conducted smoothly and whose attitude has been favourable to the construction of such a large solar park in Kirikmäe.”
“The strategy of Mirova’s renewable energy funds has always been to participate in building new installed capacity alongside industrial partners and project developers in Europe. We are proud to bring our contribution to the Baltics’ decarbonisation and energy independance with this major asset and our grateful to our partner Evecon for the quality of our partnership.“ added Raphael Lance, Head of Energy Transition Funds at Mirova.
“The use of solar energy has grown rapidly in Estonia. In 2020, we started with almost no capacity, but now we rank sixth in the European Union in terms of solar panel capacity per capita. Our goal is clear – by 2030, the electricity we consume must come from renewable sources. Solar energy, which is currently also offering the most affordable electricity, makes an important contribution to achieving this goal,’ said Climate Minister Yoko Alender.
The land area of Kirikmäe solar park is 110 hectares and it will cover the annual electricity consumption of an estimated 35,000 households. A total of 117,600 solar panels with a total power of 655–665 W will be installed there. The manufacturer of the solar panels is Canadian Solar.
