Wind
power in Latvia
General
Large scale hydro-energy
is the dominant RES-E energy technology (94% of all RES-E in 2004).
Technologies increasing in importance are small-scale hydropower and
onshore wind power. Biomass (wood) is used in centralized, local and
individual heating systems, and its share in energy supply (heating
and electricity production) was 45 % in 2004.
The Latvian
energy policy has been laid down in the strategy paper ‘Guidelines
for Development of Energy Sector for 2007-2016’. Main topic are
to ensure security of supply, improve infrastructure, implement
energy efficiency measures and to increase effective use of renewable
sources of energy and energy production in cogeneration (CHP)
processes.
From the EU Structural Funds approximately EUR 140
million is to be allocated to the energy sector (2007 - 2013), mainly
to be used for increasing efficiency of district heating systems, for
development of cogeneration plants that use biomass and for the
development of wind farms.
According to the Directive
2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the
promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources the target for
the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption
of energy in the year 2020 for Latvia is 40% (in the year 2005 the
share was 32.6%). The Directive has a mandatory 10 % target for
transport to be achieved by all Member States, which refers to
renewable sources as a whole, not biofuels alone.
Renewable
energy projections according to the National Renewable Energy Action
Plan for Latvia
The National Renewable Energy Action Plan
(NREAP) for Latvia was submitted in October 2010. The target
according to Annex I of Directive 2009/28/EC is 40% for the year 2020
and the projected NREAP share in that year exactly matches the
target. According to the projection, the most important
contribution in the year 2020 is expected from biomass (renewable
heating and cooling) (1392 ktoe, 73% of all renewable energy). Second
important contribution is expected from hydropower (3.1 TWh or 262
ktoe, 14% of all renewable energy). The third largest contribution is
from biomass (renewable electricity) (1.2 TWh or 105 ktoe, 5% of all
renewable energy). Wind power contributes with 0.4 GW (0.9 TWh) in
the year 2020 (onshore wind 0.2 GW and 0.5 TWh, offshore wind 0.2 GW
and 0.4 TWh). For solar photovoltaic the 2020 contribution is
projected to be 0.0 GW (0.0 TWh). For solar thermal the 2020
contribution is projected to be 2 ktoe. The two most important
biofuels are projected to contribute 28 ktoe (biodiesel) and 18 ktoe
(bioethanol / bio-ETBE) by 2020. The renewable electricity production
from solid biomass amounts to 0.6 TWh (55 ktoe) and for biogas it is
expected to be 0.6 TWh (50 ktoe). The consumption of renewable heat
is expected to amount to 1343 ktoe for solid biomass and 49 ktoe for
biogas.
Renewable Electricity: wind power
A
technology specific target for Latvia is to install 135 MW of onshore
wind by 2010.
Latvia has a feed-in scheme for renewable
electricity from stand-alone installations and combined heat and
power (CHP) plants. The most recent update of the tariffs dates from
July 2007. The feed-in tariff depends on the tariff for natural
gas (as approved by the regulatory authority) and a
capacity-dependent factor The tariff is higher for the first
ten years; after this period, the tariff reduces by 25%. For wind
power the feed-in tariff ranges between 130 and 150 EUR/MWh,
depending on the size of the turbine. Important limitation is the
maximum installed capacity of 250 kW. Important other barriers for
the development of wind power relate to grid connection.
Future
programme changes expected
One of the proposed changes to the
feed-in system is to make a producer choose between a feed-in tariff
or an annual capacity-based payment. For large wind power, the
capacity based payment would be mandatory.
Sources
Renewable
energy factsheet Latvia,
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/facts_en.htm (sourced
January 2008)
Ministry of Economy, http://www.em.gov.lv
(sourced September 2008)
Arta Denina, Feed-in
regulation in Latvia, 6th Workshop on International Feed-in
Cooperation, Brussels,
http://www.feed-in-cooperation.org/content/view/58/72, November
2008
World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), Wind Energy
International 2009/2010, http://www.wwindea.org,
May 2009
The National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) are all
published on the Transparency Platform on Renewable Energy:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/transparency_platform/action_plan_en.htm
(sourced July - December 2010)
Renewable Energy Projections as
Published in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans of the
European Member States, http://www.ecn.nl/nreap
(sourced December 2010)
Interactive EurObserv’ER
Database
http://www.eurobserv-er.org
Last update: January 2011
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