Company briefs - 2011-03-17

Estonian company Energy Smart is raising the profile of solar energy in the Baltic States by building a 100kW solar power plant in the southeastern town of Kurenurme, reports ERR. Foundations for the system’s 11 tracker towers have already been installed and, when completed, they will each hold 42 solar panels. Latvia’s electric utility Latvenergo has agreed to purchase the electricity generated. Energy Smart originally planned that the capacity of the plant would be from 300-500kW. However, due to limited funding, the design team settled for a 100kW capacity. The project’s initial cost is 400,000 euros, with Estonia’s Environmental Agency, KIK, and its Renewable Energy Agency, KENA, paying 70 percent of this amount.

State-owned postal company Latvijas Pasts concluded 2010 with 600,000 lats (857,100 euros) in losses, which is four times as high as in 2009, said board chairman Aigars Vitols  in an interview with Nozare.lv. Vitols notes though that these losses were planned in the company’s budget for 2010. The company’s turnover decreased 4.9 percent last year to 42 million lats, says Vitols. The reduction in turnover was in line with global trends, he added. This year Latvijas Pasts could post a profit of around 1.5 million lats, and the company’s turnover could increase to 44 million lats. The company plans to achieve this by attracting more corporate clients, reducing costs and improving efficiency of operations.