First Biogas Plant in Latvia

Envitec (Germany) is building two biogas plants in Latvia. “We are delighted that our international expansion has enabled us to undertake a project in Latvia which will certainly act as a kind of beacon for the entire region”, says Roel Slotman, the Executive Board member in charge of international sales at EnviTec Biogas AG. He adds that the Baltic country’s extensive farmland offers big potential for biogas and that the attractive feed-in tariff set by the Latvian government has created strong incentives for investment in biogas plants. “We expect that the market for biogas in Latvia will continue to evolve over the coming years and we are excited to be part of this development right from the start”, Roel Slotman said.

The sites for EnviTec’s first two biogas plants in Latvia are located in the western part of the country, not far from Liepaja, Latvia’s third largest city. The customer is the operator of a pig farm who has awarded EnviTec a contract for the construction of two plants rated for an electrical output of one megawatt each. The methane is converted into electricity in cogeneration plants whose heat output will serve to heat the sheds of his pig farms.

Latvia is among the EU countries whose local power stations cannot cover their own electricity requirements. The Baltic republic is also dependent on natural gas imports. The country therefore intends to build local energy supplies through growing use of renewable energies. The feed-in remuneration paid for biogas amounts to the equivalent of between 18 and 22 cents per kilowatt hour.