WindWorks in Latvia

For the second year in a row, the Danish Embassy in Latvia co-organized the largest wind energy conference in Latvia together with the Latvian Wind Energy Association under the title “WindWorks. Rethinking Energy”. Also this year, the conference was opened with online addresses by the President of Latvia Egils Levits, the EU commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, and the Danish Minister for Energy, Climate and Utilities Dan Jørgensen.

This year´s theme was development of offshore wind energy with discussions on regulatory framework, grid development, perspectives for hydrogen, and a lot of other topics. The joint Latvian-Estonian project to develop a common offshore 1 GW windfarm in the Gulf of Riga by 2030 was in focus. 

The conference gathered government representatives, international experts, and companies. The Danish Energy Agency, Energinet and several Danish companies took part to share Danish experiences with offshore wind energy development. The conference was closed by Danish Ambassador Flemming Stender.

Although Latvia has a large potential for wind energy, both offshore and onshore, barriers have for years prevented the development of the wind energy sector. With the push from EU climate and energy policies, rising energy prices, and the urgent need to shift away from Russian fossil energy import, there is now a new drive towards wind energy development. Since 2021, the Danish embassy in Riga has been heading a cooperation between the Danish Energy Agency and Latvian authorities to transfer Danish experiences with offshore wind energy development, also involving other countries in the Baltic Sea Region.