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It is an important year of anniversaries for the Estonian oil shale energy industry as Eesti Energia is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and the world’s largest oil shale power plants – the Balti and Eesti power plants – are celebrating their 55th and 45th anniversaries.

It is also 65 years since electricity production started at Eesti Energia following the commissioning of the power plant in Kohtla-Järve in 1949. Ten years later in 1959 the era of large-scale energy production began in Estonia when the first energy block at the Balti power plant was commissioned.

The forerunner of the Eesti Energia group, Elektrikeskus, was established on 8 May 1939 when the President of Estonia Konstantin Päts signed its foundation document. Although Elektrikeskus was only named Eesti Energia in 1945, its founding marks the beginning of the Eesti Energia group.

The role of Elektrikeskus was to implement the Estonian electrification plan and build the energy system. Many power lines were designed and built to connect consumers with power plants and preparations were made to start building new power plants. Eesti Energia’s first power plant was commissioned on 22 January 1949 and it was the first power plant to be built after the war. The Kohtla-Järve power plant, which supplied electricity to residents and companies, used oil shale as fuel.

In 1959 the Balti heat and power plant was commissioned in Ida-Virumaa, meaning it celebrates its 55th anniversary this year. The Balti power plant was the world’s first high capacity high pressure power plant to burn low quality fuel with a high ash content. Although some of the old blocks at the Balti power plant have stopped working and have been dismantled, the plant still produces electricity. There are three energy blocks at the Balti power plant, including one CHP block that was built in 2004 and uses circulating fluidised bed technology and can use both oil shale and biofuel. Tests on the combustion of oil shale and coal together are currently being done at the Balti power plant to make use of low heating value oil shale, which has so far been considered unsuitable for energy production.

The largest oil shale based power plant in Estonia and indeed the world is the Eesti power plant, which is also celebrating an anniversary in 2014. It is 45 years since the first energy block at the Eesti power plant was commissioned in 1969 and the power plant reached its designed capacity four years later in 1973.

Today there are eight energy blocks at the Eesti power plant, including the energy block using circulating fluidised bed technology that was built in 2004. Large investments have been made in recent years to modernise the Eesti power plant energy blocks and to lessen their environmental impact. As a result of a five-year project, the energy blocks at the Eesti power plant were equipped with unique sulphur cleaning equipment in 2012, which cut the emission of sulphur dioxide by two thirds. In a pilot project the first nitrogen filter was installed at the Eesti power plant, and it halves the emissions of nitrous oxide.

The Balti and Eesti power plants produce a combined total of 9 TWh of electricity per year, which would be enough for 7.5 million people, as one person consumes 1,200 kWh of electricity per year on average. The Balti and Eesti power plants are Estonia’s most important electricity producers, producing about 90% of the electricity in Estonia.

This year also sees the Eesti Energia Tehnoloogiatööstus testing centre celebrate its 50th anniversary and the Eesti Energia Kaevandus logistics centre celebrate its 65th.