Solar energy generation in Latvia has reached market saturation, meaning the overall electricity system should now focus on other types of production, said Sandis Jansons, Chairman of the Management Board of the distribution system operator AS Sadales tīkls, in an interview with LETA.
He explained that solar activity continues, with new generators being added. Households are increasing their capacity, while on the corporate side, solar parks are under development – nearly 300 megawatts (MW) are still in the pipeline.
“We’ll see how much will actually be built, but it’s clear we’ll end the year at around 900 MW, or even one gigawatt (GW), of solar generation connected to the distribution grid. That is significantly more than our own consumption on a normal sunny day,” Jansons said, noting that in summer Latvia’s daytime demand is about 600–700 MW.
The pace of household solar installations has slowed, and the market has gradually reached saturation. However, when panels are combined with storage batteries, consumption can be balanced.
“Most likely, that is why interest in microgeneration hasn’t disappeared –
in the first eight months of this year about 1,400 new microgenerators were installed,
and almost 70% came with batteries,” Jansons added.
Asked whether the number of solar generators would continue to grow, Jansons said supply now exceeds demand, and when the sun shines, electricity prices on the exchange are low or even negative.
“Therefore, from the overall electricity system perspective, we need to focus on other production – wind energy, storage batteries (BESS), which are now actively entering the market. In the medium term, these are priorities, because solar power is already sufficient and even in surplus,” Jansons said, stressing that the main challenge is balancing variable and decentralized generation with demand.
He noted that Latvia’s Energy Strategy envisions about one GW of solar power, which is already being reached, so wind potential must now be increased. “The more diverse and balanced the resources, the safer we are,” he said, adding that it’s also important to consider what happens “on a cold, windless January night.”
Thus,
Latvia will need not only solar and wind plants, but also hydropower plants (HPPs)
and thermal power plants (TPPs). Moreover, TPPs could operate not only on natural gas, but also on biogas or, in the future, hydrogen.
Jansons emphasized the need for balanced resources, reminding that as dependence on electricity grows, it cannot rely solely on renewables, since they cannot provide 100% constant supply. “We also need baseload capacities that provide energy when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow,” he said.
As reported, in 2024 Sadales tīkls had a turnover of 371.812 million euros and a profit of 28.256 million euros.
Sadales tīkls is a distribution grid operator and developer in Latvia, owned by the state as part of the Latvenergo group. The company ensures network operation, renewal, planned development, electricity usage monitoring, loss reduction measures, electricity metering, and the creation of new connections.
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