President Announces Amendments to Wind Farm Placement Conditions

The State President Edgars Rinkēvičs has announced amendments to the law "On Environmental Impact Assessment" (EIA), which provides the possibility to reject wind farm projects if the total capacity of wind power stations (WPS) commissioned or with building permits in the municipality reaches at least 150 megawatts (MW) and it is found that the project will or may have a significant negative cumulative impact on the environment, landscape, or residents' quality of life, according to a publication in the official gazette "Latvijas Vēstnesis", reports the agency LETA.

The amendments also grant the municipality the right to set a minimum distance of no more than 2000 meters from the city or village boundary to the nearest planned wind power station or wind farm boundary, if such a restriction is justified by the further development of the respective city or village in the municipality's sustainable development strategy.