Generation capacity is a "burning question" of Baltic energy sector - World Energy Council

RIGA - New generation capacities are literally a "burning question" of the Baltic states' energy sector, but the response to it lacks speed, and it is already clear that the ambitious goals will not be met on time, Olga Bogdanova, President of the Latvian National Committee of the World Energy Council, told LETA. 

The representative of the World Energy Council said that never before have the Baltic states seen such a severe shortage of generation capacity. Furthermore, Estonia is phasing out oil shale in electricity generation and  Lithuania has been facing a 60-70 percent generation capacity shortfall since the closure of the Ignalina nuclear power plant. Gas-fired power plants in Lithuania and Estonia are also quite old. Meanwhile, energy consumption is growing.

In Latvia, although renewable energy projects are given high priority, in practice, things are not going so smoothly. A lot of projects have been announced and technical specifications have been issued, but the practical works are stalling and not moving forward. Therefore, despite the high number of announced projects, development is unlikely to be particularly fast

"As a country we lack a big perspective, we are good at executive stuff, but we lack strategic direction. That is why the big processes are stalling," Bogdanova admitted.

However, she said that the problems are not unique to Latvia, because a decision taken today in the energy sector will only be put into practice after about 10 years. The return on investment also comes much later.

"This is why there are problems with a long-term strategy in Latvia and the rest of Europe, because short-term priorities always get in the way. Of course, you have to respond to short-term challenges, but you also have to be able to keep your backbone. We need decisiveness, clarity and the ability to organize. At the moment, however, everyone is focused on their own backyard and there is no leader to get all market players rowing in the same direction," said Bogdanova.

As reported, a conference on the energy trilemma - security, affordability and sustainability - organized by the World Energy Council's Latvian National Committee, will take place in Riga on December 11, bringing together a wide range of industry experts, policy makers and energy executives.