The Energy Discovery Centre, housed in what used to be Tallinn’s first power plant, celebrated its 10th anniversary last month. On the occasion of the anniversary, Enefit installed nearly 69 kW of solar panels on the Energy Discovery Centre’s roof, enabling the centre to produce its own electricity on-site and significantly reduce annual electricity costs.

A total of 188 solar panels with a combined capacity of 68.6 kW were installed during the work, producing approximately 63 MWh of electricity annually for the Energy Discovery Centre. According to Mikk Tootsi, Enefit’s Solar and Storage Service Manager, the installation of the panels is an excellent example of how historic buildings can benefit from modern technologies and solutions.

‘The Energy Discovery Centre uses about 60% of the energy produced on-site, which is around 38 MWh, and the rest is sold to the grid. The biggest advantage comes from using the energy produced on-site, as it eliminates the need to purchase the same amount of energy from the grid along with network charges. The panels bring the centre an average annual saving of 10,000 euros and reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 76 tonnes per year,’ said Tootsi.

‘We are pleased to support the Energy Discovery Centre and their educational mission to promote the study of natural and physical sciences and to introduce energy-related topics to society more broadly,’ he added.

According to Aare Baumer, the Research and Development Manager of the Energy Discovery Centre, the team welcomes the opportunity to resume electricity production at Tallinn’s first power plant, this time mostly for their own use, and noted that renewable energy topics will be increasingly included in educational programmes.

‘The Energy Discovery Centre has always been a place where science and technology meet, and now we can show our visitors how renewable energy can be part of everyday life. ‘The last time electricity was produced in this building was in 1979, which means that there has been a break in production for 45 years,’ he noted. ‘The energy produced by the panels helps reduce our operating costs, allowing us to focus on developing and improving educational programmes.’

Enefit is a subsidiary of the Eesti Energia Group, managing the group’s retail business in the Baltics and Poland, offering a wide range of energy products and services to both business and private customers. These include electricity and gas, solar and storage solutions, Enefit Volt home and public electric vehicle charging solutions, insurance, high-speed internet readiness, electrical work, and heating and cooling solutions. Over 500 energy experts at Enefit are dedicated to being reliable partners on the green journey by providing practical and convenient energy solutions.

The Energy Discovery Centre is managed by the Tallinn Technology and Science Centre Foundation, which was founded by the City of Tallinn, TalTech, Eesti Energia AS, and AS Tallinna Soojus. The centre operates in Tallinn’s first power plant and aims to inspire children to learn about natural and physical sciences. The centre features over a hundred hands-on exhibits that allow visitors to safely explore and experiment with physical phenomena.