The Environmental Advisory Council, which brings together Latvia's most important non-governmental sector environmental organizations, has issued a message of alarm to the public. A reasonable compromise with the Ministry of the Environment has not been reached. The ruling coalition's intention to lift all restrictions on wind energy will cause significant damage to Latvia's nature.
The crux of the problem is this. After the renewed invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation is blackmailing Ukraine's supporters, and Latvia among them, with its gas supplies. Prices have skyrocketed, the Kremlin is demanding payment in rubles. And there is also the possibility that the gas valve will one day simply be turned off. For example, today. That is why the European Union is looking at other sources of energy - gas from other countries, nuclear, wood, sun, wind. And the Latvian government is focusing on wind energy as an alternative to Russian gas. At the same time, a long-term solution such as small modular nuclear reactor technology is being left unaddressed. The wind industry lobby is now very active, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MEPRD), which in theory should represent the interests of the environment and citizens in this debate, is siding with business. In principle, it is identical to the gambling story. The MEPRD is proposing to the coalition that the wind energy sector be completely exempted from environmental burdens and obligations, and the coalition has supported this plan in the form of an information report. As Neatkarīgā already reported, "Coalition removes all restrictions from wind business". The need to reduce energy dependence is a universal argument to override the objections of local communities, to waive the environmental impact assessment procedure, and to remove the troublesome provisions in the Protected Zones Law. In principle, one hazardous sector with extremely high environmental impacts will be removed from the environmental regulation. Wind turbines will be able to be sited anywhere, including by deforesting vast areas - pouring thousands of tons of concrete where there were trees before.
Until recently, Latvia was one of the greenest countries in the EU precisely because of its strict environmental policy. Forests were managed with the utmost care, every habitat counted, every pair of eagles and every site of bulbous buttercups given its own micro-reserve. But now this reverence for nature, cultivated over the years, will be bulldozed away. Environmental organizations do not accept this approach, because there is another way - you can build wind turbines in places that are not the most outstanding and valuable from the point of view of nature. Environmental requirements for industrial construction can be simplified, but not abandoned altogether. The transition from gas to wind must be environmentally and human friendly. "The Environmental Advisory Council believes that the urgency of solving Latvia's energy dependence on Russia should not be used as a reason to ignore Latvia's international and national commitments to nature and the environment." The advisory body has tried to find a reasonable compromise in negotiations with the MEPRD, but the informative report "Optimization of procedures for the implementation of wind power plants over 50 MW" went to the government virtually unchanged. Although the Council came up with a very reasonable proposal that would cause less harm to the environment - to leave forests alone and locate turbines on intensive agricultural land. That is to say, not to prevent new wind power plants from being built, but to locate them as environmentally friendly as possible. The environmental impact assessment procedure, which is mandatory under the EU directive, should also be simplified rather than abolished altogether. This would also avoid infringement procedures initiated by the European Commission.
Anyone who now dares to oppose the wind energy lobby risks being branded a Kremlin co-conspirator. For a long time, environmental organizations have kept quiet about the wind industry's ill-conceived plans, but the scale of the environmental damage being promoted by the MEPRD is too great. In order to promote Latvia's energy independence, the country is to build around 200 wind power plants with a total capacity of 1000 MW. This must be done wisely, not haphazardly, and environmental experts must be involved in the planning. They know better than politicians and civil servants where and how wind power plants should be built to minimize damage.
Here is a quote from the statement of the Environmental Advisory Council:
"In view of the potential environmental risks, the Environmental Advisory Council has appealed to the MEPRD and the Ministry of Economy, stressing the need for a constructive and thoughtful inter-sectoral expert discussion on the construction of wind power plants with a capacity of over 50 MW as a matter of urgency. Environmental experts are surprised that most of the wind power plants are planned to be built in forests! They could be built faster and cheaper on agricultural land, and the land could continue to be used for agriculture after construction. The environmental risks would be significantly lower and could be assessed in a shorter period of time." After a certain period of time, when more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy solutions than wind power plants are found, it will be easier to dismantle wind power plants on agricultural land.
The proposed abandonment of the EIA procedure for wind power plants would contravene EU requirements:
"The Environmental Advisory Council, having assessed the information report of the MEPRD on the streamlining of procedures for the implementation of wind power plants above 50 MW, expresses its concern about the proposed replacement of the EIA process by the issuance of technical regulations within 30 days. The report does not say how such a significant reduction in time will ensure the quality of the assessment and other selection criteria to avoid significant negative impacts on the environment, people, birds and bats. The Report should also be accompanied by a concrete plan and timetable for the phase-out of Russian gas for energy production and the reduction of fossil fuel use in general. The EAC experts consider that the environmental impact assessment of wind power plants could be carried out more quickly and easily on intensive agricultural land that is not located in specially protected nature areas, along bird and bat migration routes, near settlements, within the visibility zones of cultural monuments, etc., and that specific selection criteria could meet the requirements of the EIA Directive as well as the Birds and Habitats Directives."
Neatkarīgā spoke to Juris Jātnieks, Chairman of the Advisory Council. If the Council makes such a public announcement, it shows certain desperation. Is there any chance of influencing the government's future decisions? At least in theory, yes:
"Our main message is to put the wind in the fields and let the trees grow the forests."
The MEPRD's information report has been adopted, but a number of laws and regulations will have to be amended to put the omnipotence of wind energy it envisages into practice. So the debate will continue, and it is important that the wider public gets involved.
Neatkarīgā also asked the Ministry of the Environment for clarification on the upcoming changes in the environmental regulation of the wind energy sector. Here is a more extensive quote from the response:
"The need for increased production capacity and urgent action has also been significantly affected by the hostilities in Ukraine by the Russian Federation, which requires urgent solutions in Latvia to strengthen the energy independence of our country.
(..) Assessing the progress made so far in Latvia in the field of renewable energy production, it can be concluded that the potential of wind and solar energy in Latvia has been minimally exploited. One of the reasons for this situation in Latvia is the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs wishing to develop wind power plants (WPPs) in several municipalities. Current progress towards the renewable energy targets of the National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 is not dynamic enough. The proposal does not exempt the proponent of a WPP from the obligation to comply with the environmental requirements of the proposed activity at its location. It is foreseen that the State Environmental Service will carry out an assessment and draw up technical regulations to be taken into account in the further development of the project in order to assess the risks and create conditions for both the implementation of the project and the protection of the environment, as well as to inform the public and listen to their views. Compensatory measures would also be identified to offset negative impacts, the costs of which would be borne by the proponent. Also, the restrictions already set out in the Regulatory Framework for Specially Protected Nature Areas, as well as other requirements set out in regulatory enactments (protection zones around wind farms) would remain in place for the construction of wind farms."
The Ministry of the Environment's position implies that by significantly reducing the requirements for wind farms, the environment and the public interest will be very well protected anyway. Environmental organizations and nature experts are of the opposite opinion.
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