Wind energy companies europe Latvia

Does Latvia have a wind energy potential?

The wind energy potential in Latvia is significant, both for onshore and offshore wind. But Latvia is lagging behind its neighbours and others. It only has 66 MW of capacity and hasn’t built any new wind farms since 2012. A new onshore project was recently presented by Vestas.

How can the Latvian government support wind farms?

The Latvian Government should also introduce an efficient financing model to support wind farm investments. Auctions for contracts for Difference (CfD) would be the best option here. CfDs significantly reduce the financing costs of wind farms, because banks are happy to lend to projects that have stable revenues.

Should Latvia start implementing a regulatory framework for offshore wind?

To this end it’s important Latvia starts implementing a regulatory framework to support the development of offshore wind. It takes longer to build offshore wind farms than onshore wind farms, so if Latvia wants to project to be operational before 2030 it needs to start acting soon.

Should Latvia allow wind energy in state-owned forests?

Latvia’s current fragmented approach to land ownership makes it difficult to develop large wind farms, however. The Government should therefore consider allowing wind energy deployment in state-owned forests, avoiding deforestation.

Is elwind a good project for Estonia & Latvia?

Estonia and Latvia have many offshore areas where this potential could be realized in near future and ELWIND is one project that is aiming to contribute into achieving this goal. Today, the electricity consumption in Estonia and Latvia exceeds the production volumes and consumption peaks are covered by imported electricity.

Why is electricity consumption so high in Estonia and Latvia?

Today, the electricity consumption in Estonia and Latvia exceeds the production volumes and consumption peaks are covered by imported electricity. Many high-volume electricity power plants run on nonefficient and outdated technologies.