The urgency with which the draft law on the promotion of wind energy has been rushed through the Saeima, and its revolutionary content (in a bad sense), suggest that behind the politicians' declared aim of blessing the Latvian market with green electricity independent of Russia, there is in fact an order to give away 1000 megawatts to some sellers close to specific parties. And those companies that are approaching the end of the EIA procedure in the current cumbersome way could be left empty-handed.
The draft law "Law on the Facilitated Procedure for the Construction of Wind Power Plants to Promote Energy Security and Independence" is the brainchild of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. So, of the gambling lobby party Development/For! (Attīstībai/Par!). It has been rushed through the government and is now, as a matter of urgency, approaching its final reading. With three weeks to go, the industry fears that it will be neither improved nor slowed down in such a short time.
Paradoxically, the Wind Energy Association does not want to put all sorts of benefits and privileges into the law, but to take them away. First of all, it wants to maintain the requirement for large wind farm projects to undergo a full EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) procedure, to maintain full public discussion opportunities for citizens. The timeframes for the EIA procedure can be significantly shortened already within the existing process. And the only thing the industry really needs is for the last stamp - the requirement for municipal approval - to be dropped, leaving the green light for wind farm construction to the national authorities.
Over the weekend, the National Environment Service organized an expert discussion "Environment and adaptation to economic challenges" on how to preserve nature by producing wind energy. How to adapt environmental requirements to wind energy needs without sacrificing environmental and nature protection interests. An unusual situation has arisen with regard to the draft law that has been tabled in Saeima, because politicians are seeking much looser regulation than is objectively necessary for the industry, and the industry is basically banding together with environmental institutions and organizations to prevent the draft law from being approved in its current form.
The wind industry has a truly terrible reputation. Both because the main business of the power plants built so far has been to pump OIK out of the pockets of the state and the population and because developers have been prepared to, figuratively speaking, walk over corpses - to sue, bribe and lie - in the name of business. Now the era of subsidized wind is coming to an end. But if the state drops the requirement for new wind projects to undergo an EIA procedure and new wind farms are built without taking into account the interests of the environment and citizens, the industry's reputation will suffer again in the long run. Toms Nāburgs, head of the Wind Energy Association, is convinced of this. To overcome the current public dislike and promote the development of the sector, two sets of issues need to be addressed. Firstly, local communities need to benefit directly. It is already enshrined in the Electricity Market Law that developers will have to pay a certain amount to local authorities to compensate residents for the impact of the park. The second block is that the full EIA procedure must be maintained in order to assess the environmental impact convincingly. This is a long-term insurance policy so that there is no reason for public concern about a permitted wind park. All risks have been assessed. "If this is resolved and the political risks are also removed from the municipalities, there should be no more resistance," says the wind energy lobbyist.
On the other hand, if the draft law is approved, it will unwisely remove all the current restrictions, opening the way for all kinds of speculators, middlemen and swindlers to qualify for even the whole 1000 megawatt-hours, as they will be able to formally qualify on the basis of a few bought environmental expert opinions and take the allocated capacity for themselves. For example, by bypassing a reputable wind energy developer like the state-owned company Latvenergo. And then those who really want to build wind farms will have to buy these packs from intermediaries at a steep price. It is very likely that these swindlers have already applied to key politicians. The fact that the pace of the coalition's policy is currently too fast and that abandoning the EIA procedure would be a strategic mistake is also recognized by environmental institutions and organizations: the State Environmental Service, the Nature Conservation Agency, the Environmental Advisory Council. Moreover, the idea of abandoning public discussions may result in litigation, which will ultimately hinder the expansion of wind energy in the country anyway.
Environment Minister Artūrs Toms Plešs promises the wind poles almost tomorrow at noon. Meanwhile, Juris Jātnieks, head of the Environmental Advisory Council, estimates that it will take at least two years before the first turbines are purchased. So there is time and there is absolutely no reason to rush. Wind farms will have a very far-reaching impact on Latvia's nature. Deforestation and drainage of large areas will significantly alter the hydrology of wet habitats. The loss of monolithic forests will affect bears, lynx, wolves, black storks and bats. Latvia is home to one third of the world's lesser spotted eagle population. Therefore, at least in protected areas of the Natura 2000 network and in micro-reserves, wind poles should not be allowed. It would be wiser to locate them on agricultural land in Zemgale, in areas where there is an existing road network, in areas degraded from the point of view of biodiversity, in peat mines. Also on the sea coast.
The responsible ministry now believes that if the requirements for wind farms are significantly reduced, the interests of nature and society will still be sufficiently well protected. Environmental authorities and the wind energy industry itself are of the opposite opinion.
And just because Development/For! pushes through a lousy law in the Saeima, no windmill will appear on the horizon sooner, and it is even more likely that it will be delayed.