Energy Transition in Europe | www.energy-cities.eu

Energy consumed in the residential sector accounts for up to 30 per cent of Latvia’s energy usage. Approximately 23,000 multi-apartment buildings need to be renovated, but only 1,600 buildings have been insulated since 2009, a renovation rate of 0.5 per year. Will Latvia seize the chance and use REPowerEU chapters for renovation?

A major municipal reform has been in development for years in Latvia and it is entering the final stretch. Parliament is set to be voting on the proposed changes to the municipal administration of the country, though they are riddles with controversies, which might further delay the government’s plans. The major goal of the reform is to substantially reduce the number of municipalities in the country – from the current 110 down to 34. The last administrative reform was carried out in 2009, but the municipal consolidations it entailed proved to be insufficient. Migration, brain drain, and urbanization have left many small municipalities practically deserted, unable to perform some of their basic functions. This, alongside other factors, prompted the need for a new administrative reform.

The Baltic nations, Poland and the European Commission agreed Thursday (28 June) on a roadmap to synchronise the region’s electricity network with the rest of continental Europe’s by 2025 and end their reliance on the Russian grid.

District Heating is an efficient way to heat homes, particularly in a country like Latvia where 58% of its primary energy consumption is used for heating. But Selīna Vancāne at Riga City Council is very concerned that the draft EU Recovery plans do not include any support under the climate goals for district heating projects. Perhaps it’s because of a blind spot: most of Europe is prioritising individual heating units powered by electricity. Meanwhile, Latvia is tacking the issue of fuel sources for district heating. There’s gas (not clean, must be imported from Russia), woodchips (plenty of local supply, but has sustainability limits), and much better solutions like solar. Vancāne offers the case study of Salaspils Siltums, built in 6 months, which provides solar district heating to 85% of a town of 18,000 people. She urges the EU to fund both district heating and the new clean solutions it can use. The results can be cost effective, sustainable, efficient and curb emissions.

On 12 September, district heating operator Salaspils Siltums inaugurated a 21,672 m² solar field and a wood chip boiler, put up in the middle of the woods near the town of Salaspils, Latvia, to meet 90 % of demand from the local heat network. The inauguration came after a three-week test run of the solar district heating plant and its new 8,000 m³ storage tank. The system was installed by Latvian-based company Filter, which signed an EPC contract with Salaspils Siltums in August 2018. The collectors were delivered by Danish manufacturer Arcon-Sunmark.

The local government of Riga has announced the 2nd round of voting in its neighbourhood projects competition. At first, NGOs and local organizations from the different neighbourhoods of the Latvian capital were invited to submit their proposals and plans for their respective areas. A total of 34 projects were submitted and after careful consideration by the local authorities, only 14 remain.

Now it’s in the hands of the citizens of Riga to decide which ones will be implemented. The municipality has allocated a total of 500,000 euros for the task. In the end at least 5 projects will be realised as the rules state that each initiative can be given a maximum of 100,000 euros. Voting is done online over at this link and every citizen of Riga can participate – so long as they are over 16 years old. Voting takes place until 19 September.