The amendments to the Electricity Market Law were adopted by the Government on Tuesday. Climate and Energy Minister Kaspars Melnis (Greens and Farmers Union) hopes that the adopted changes will allow the sector to get off the ground.
One of the most difficult questions for the development of wind farm projects in the KEM has been how to reconcile Latvia's defense capacity and wind farm development, given that wind turbines limit air protection when located in certain places.
Last week, for example, the Swedish government banned the construction of 13 offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea, as the country's armed forces believed they would interfere with military sensors.
To avoid such decisions on wind farms in Latvia, a map of where wind farms can and cannot be located has been drawn up in good time. The Ministry of Defense has divided the Latvian territory into three zones for wind farms. Specifically, the green zone requires no restrictions or approvals for wind farms, unless required by aviation law; the yellow zone requires in-depth negotiations with the Ministry of Defense; and the red zone has very little chance of approval.
A second, updated version of this map was presented on Wednesday, which removes several restrictions on wind farms in different locations in Latvia. Currently, the only zone where parks are strictly forbidden will be the eastern border.
Toms Nāburgs, CEO of the Latvian Wind Energy Association, said: "The area where wind farms can be planned has been expanded, primarily in Kurzeme, where there is the greatest interest in developing wind farms. [...] These wind farms, once they have been agreed, should also be physically connected and the electricity generated should be transferred. Before, this was on the list of issues to be addressed. And yesterday, at the Cabinet meeting, this issue of military radars with access to the grid was comprehensively resolved."
The new map will only come into force in 2028, once the country has acquired new radars. However, according to the Minister, this does not prevent the development of wind projects from starting now, given that wind farms take several years to build.
