The public discussion meeting will take place remotely on 25 January at 4:00 pm. At website http://laflora.lv/lv/uznemums/veja-parks no later than on 22 January a website link to the meeting and the instructions for accessing it will be published.
SIA Laflora, one of the largest peat extraction and processing companies in Latvia, has been managing the Kaigu Bog in Jelgava region for 25 years. The company employs around 250 local residents to produce peat substrates for gardening, forestry and agriculture.
The extraction of energy peat available in the Kaigu Bog has been terminated due to the condition of the Just Transition Fund of the European Commission to terminate the extraction and use of energy peat, therefore the company is looking for other existing resources and types of land use, which include also the creation of the intended wind farm.
In the wind farm at Kaigu Peat Bog, the total area of which is 760 ha, it is planned to terminate the extraction of energy peat in the area of 450 ha (the remaining energy peat stock reaches 890 000 m3). The produced green energy, which is a renewable resource, will be used both for Laflora own consumption in the production plant of peat products and substrates and for the technological processes, as well as for ensuring the functionality of the future green industrial zone in the Kaigu Bog. The wind farm is planned in the entire area of the bog – both where the extraction of energy peat has been terminated and where the extraction of horticultural peat will continue, after the gradual termination of which, the territories will be re-cultivated.
The goal of creating the green industrial zone is to provide innovative companies with high energy-efficiency the renewable energy produced by Laflora wind farm, thus helping them to integrate renewable energy into their production processes and produce value-added products. In this way, preconditions will be created for the fulfilment of the objectives of the Just Transition Fund plan, i.e. the transformation of companies into climate neutrality will be promoted.
The operation of such a green industrial zone will allow to develop sustainable business in Jelgava Region and the entire Zemgale District, increase the competitiveness of companies due to lower energy costs, as well as create new sustainable jobs in the long run, at the same time creating preconditions for economic growth in the region.
The latest generation wind turbines will be constructed in the park, similar to those widely used throughout Europe. The maximum height of the turbines will be 247 m. The wind farm will produce 300 000 MWh of electricity per year. With such an amount of electricity, 5% of the total electricity consumption in Latvia per year can be provided.
The park could provide green energy to both Jelgava Region and Jelgava City. Thus, Jelgava region could become a region of 100% renewable energy or the greenest region in Latvia. This wind farm will be the company’s contribution to the country’s goal of climate neutrality set by the European Union. The total economy of carbon emissions from Laflora green energy by 2050 would be more than 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
In accordance with strict regulatory enactments an international environmental consulting company has performed an environmental impact assessment of the wind farm design. The impact on the environment, nature and the surrounding population has been assessed by an ornithologist, bat expert, habitat expert, landscape architects, cultural heritage experts, hydrologists and geologists. Electromagnetic field expertise, noise expertise, the expertise of potential shadow and flicker created by turbines, as well as risk analysis were also performed.
We not only consider ourselves to be peat extractors and processors, producing the peat substrates required around the world to plant forests, flowers and, ultimately, to eat delicious tomatoes and cucumbers, but we are also thinking about the further use of the land. That is exactly, why we call our job bog farming,” admits Uldis Ameriks, Chairman of SIA Laflora Board, and continues: “We give new life to this land, and the bog lives and coexists with people and the environment, continuing to benefit them. Laflora wind farm is a commercial project, where the production of electricity does not require state or municipal subsidies, but we hope to attract the currently available investments offered by the European Union’s Green Deal funding directions and the available funds.”
The total planned investment in Laflora green industrial zone is 170 million euros, of which the investment in the wind farm is estimated at 120 million euros. Modern, power saving and environmentally friendly devices and mechanisms, in synergy with the efficient and sustainable use of the land resources, are the contribution of Laflora for the reaching of the ambitious objectives of our country and humanity.
The public discussion on the construction of Laflora wind farm in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of the Law on the Management of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection will take place remotely from 14 January to 15 February 2021. From 14 January, the environmental impact assessment report and its summary are available on the company website.
