Latvian government rejects K2 Ventum wind farm project with 46 turbines
The Latvian government has rejected K2 Ventum’s wind farm project in Saka Parish near Pāvilosta on the country’s western coast. The company had planned to install 46 wind turbines up to 250 metres high, LSM English reports.
Impact assessment and objections
The project’s environmental impact assessment lasted four years and covered its potential impact on nature, soils, animals, the landscape and other factors. Gita Strode, director of the Nature Protection Department at the Nature Conservation Agency, noted that the project provided for monitoring in the adjacent protected natural area so that appropriate measures could be taken if an impact were identified.
At the same time, members of the local association Piekraste rītdienai argue that the wind farm does not comply with the municipal spatial plan and the law on protected zones. In their view, the assessment did not sufficiently take into account the impact on birds and neighbouring protected natural areas. Association representative Daina Paulovska said that the community had pointed out shortcomings in the report, but the Ministry of Climate and Energy responded that a repeated assessment would be economically unviable.
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Possible court challenge
K2 Ventum board member Agris Kalniņš said that the company had complied with the requirements established by law. K2 Ventum intends to go to court, hoping to have the government’s decision declared unlawful. In a written response, the State Environmental Service said that the reliability of the environmental assessment conducted would also be evaluated during court proceedings.
Climate and Energy Minister Jānis Vitenbergs said there were contradictory circumstances surrounding the project. At the same time, Economics Minister Viktors Valainis stressed that state institutions had previously found the project compliant with the requirements and that legal arguments were needed for its rejection. Jānis Zuļķis, head of the Energy and Industrialisation Working Group at the Foreign Investors Council in Latvia, believes that the decision after the established procedures had been completed raises concerns among potential investors.
