The investments planned by JSC Latvenergo and JSC Latvia’s State Forests joint venture SIA Latvijas Vēja parki will be one of the largest in Latvia’s history and will reach one billion euros, announced by Prime Minister of Latvia Krišjānis Kariņš on Monday, August 8.
The Prime Minister emphasized that even before Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, there had been thoughts on how to ensure the country’s energy independence, for electricity to be reasonably priced and to ensure the competitiveness of businesses.
Kariņš stressed that this requires the use of indigenous renewable energy sources, one of which is wind energy. After the implementation of this project, Latvia could become an electricity exporter instead of an electricity importer.
Currently, Latvia produces 40% of its own electricity and imports 60%. If Russia had been the main source of imports so far, this source should now be forgotten.
«This is a medium-term solution that will allow us to become fully independent in terms of energy supply, with less reliance on fossil resources,» said the Prime Minister.
The Chairman indicated that the first results will be achieved within two to three years, but the project will be completed within five. He also said that no state funding will be allocated as this is fully commercial project that will allow both state – owned companies to make a profit and pay dividends to the state.
It was also informed that, in line with the European Green Deal, the use of oil shale for electricity generation in Estonia and coal in Poland is to be phased out, thus increasing the importance of Latvian wind farms for the region’s energy supply.
Latvenergo board member added that according to the research center SKDS conducted in the spring, 77.2% of the population expressed support for the creation of such wind parks.He said that that there is a hope to involve other Latvian companies that already produce various components for wind turbines in the new project. Such involvement in the project will also allow these companies to become larger exporters of wind turbine components.
Next year’s goal is to find the best possible locations for wind farms.
According to meteorological observations and wind databases, suitable locations could be not only on the Kurzeme coast, but also, for example, in the Vidzeme and Latgale highlands.
It has already been reported that on June 21, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers gave permission for the establishment of a joint venture between Latvenergo and LVM to develop large – capacity wind energy parks of strategic importance.
The project aims to achieve up to 800 MW of capacity in several large wind farms across Latvia, which will be almost the same as the electricity generated by Latvia’s largest hydroelectric power plant – Pļaviņu HES.
Latvenergo is engaged in the production and sale of electricity and heat, as well as the sale of natural gas and the provision of electricity distribution services.
JSC Latvia’s State Forests is solely owned by the state, and the Ministry of Agriculture is the shareholder.