Wood can replace natural gas in heat and electricity production, and this can be achieved using wood gasification equipment manufactured in Latvia. However, to implement this, politicians need to give the green light in deed, not just in word.

"Although we have been involved in the manufacturing of biomass, including wood, gasification equipment for several years, we did not consider Latvia as a target market for our products until the end of last year, when heat and electricity prices in the Baltics rose significantly," explains Armands Zemītis, a representative of the bespoke equipment manufacturer SIA Fortes. He acknowledges that, until now, the company's largest orders for biomass cogeneration plants have come from foreign clients. "We are currently in the final stages of building a biomass cogeneration plant for a client in Japan," says A. Zemītis when asked which countries the products are being prepared for. He emphasises that the company's largest project completed to date can be seen in Belisce, Croatia, where the installed cogeneration plant has a capacity of 1.3 MW of electricity and 2.6 MW of heat energy. "Over the last few months, especially after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, interest from Latvian companies specifically in SIA Fortes cogeneration plants has increased significantly, but only time will tell if this materialises into real orders," A. Zemītis replies when asked about the interest from Latvia. He notes, however, that it takes about 3-4 months to manufacture one cogeneration plant line, so if there is a desire to start using such plants as early as the next heating season, they essentially need to be ordered within the next month. "We can carry out the assembly process for several such technological lines simultaneously, but it must be taken into account that recent events have affected the supply chains for components, and the delivery lead times themselves have also become longer," A. Zemītis explains when asked what is hindering the acceleration of this equipment's production.

For now, only with our own money

Another problem discouraging companies in the heating and other sectors—especially the forestry industry, which has access to large resources of burnable wood—from purchasing products from SIA Fortes is the fact that biomass technologies are not those that the state has planned to support, unlike, for example, solar and wind power generation technologies. Currently, non-governmental business organisations have written a letter to both the Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Agriculture requesting adjustments to also support the implementation of biomass technologies. "If these support conditions are truly changed, then the interest of entrepreneurs could turn into orders," predicts A. Zemītis. Although past experience suggests that corrections can take several months, there is not that much time under current circumstances; therefore, in the view of the SIA Fortes representative, they must be made within the coming weeks.

There is enough energy wood

More than half of Latvia's territory is covered by forests. Latvia's climatic conditions and soil provide excellent conditions for forestry. Forestry traditions and legal requirements ensure the continuity of the forest management cycle, during which wood is harvested and forests are replanted and tended. "It is high time to make decisions that provide for a rapid move towards using a local resource—wood—in district and individual heating," emphasises Arnis Muižnieks, Chairman of the Board of the Forest Owners Association of Latvia. He points out that the Latvian forest industry can fully meet the country's energy needs. As research by scientists from the Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava shows, the amount of energy that can be obtained from lower-value wood assortments and logging residues is estimated at 1.05–1.15 million TJ, and this does not include the amount of energy that could be obtained from wood found outside the forest—in ditch-side overgrowth and overgrowth on infrastructure sites. Latvia currently also has a huge volume of overgrown, commercially low-value tree species stands; for example, there are about 23 million m3 of wood in mature and overmature grey alder stands. "As you can see, we have the resources; we just need the will to become independent by using our own local, renewable resource," emphasises A. Muižnieks. He points out that the Latvian forest industry can fully meet the country's energy needs for heating and could contribute much more to electricity production if the construction of cogeneration plants were more widely developed, similar to how it works in Sweden. "We are not talking about using the valuable part of the wood," Muižnieks stresses.

The potential of wood gas

A. Zemītis reminds us that the technology produced by the company ensures the most efficient use of wood possible by gasifying it—that is, wood chips are converted into wood gas, which is cleaned and used as gas (fuel) that can be used both in an internal combustion engine and as gas for, for example, heat production. "We can provide that capability," A. Zemītis replies when asked if natural gas can be replaced by wood gas using SIA Fortes equipment and if the relevant modules can be placed at heating complexes that operate on natural gas. He is quick to point out, however, that alongside heat, electricity generation is also very important. "Yes, there were such cars back in the day, but today the technologies are different, even if the principles are the same," A. Zemītis replies when asked if there weren't cars after the Second World War that were powered by wood gas (the driver would occasionally add firewood to a small furnace so the car could move). He assumes that as the prices of fossil energy resources rise, the demand for wood gas technological equipment will also increase significantly.

Mobilisation of land resources and shortened timeframes

“We must strive to make maximum use of all the opportunities and resources available in Latvia for the needs of the people living here, using bushes, branches, and even waste collected from forest clearings and ditches as fuel as much as possible, and these measures need to be implemented comprehensively in all major cities,” suggests Māris Liopa, Chairman of the Land Use Committee of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In his opinion, we must not bureaucratise the problem issues for the coming heating season today, as happened in peacetime, where the deadlines for permits, approvals, and assessments stretched over many months and even years. “If the state trusts the heating companies that are already operating, then all the timelines for approval procedures should be 10 and perhaps even 20 times shorter; their maximum approval time should not exceed 20 days, both regarding the use of wood and waste as raw materials for heating,” says M. Liopa. He draws attention to what Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said at the LCCI general meeting: “The situation is such that economic taboos should be lifted if it helps our country!” Accordingly, the bureaucratic burden must be removed. Māris Liopa believes that all possible agricultural land areas should be sown this year because food will be needed by everyone everywhere. “Primarily, Latvia must provide its own population with food, and only then can we talk about exports; this means that agriculture and food processing must be considered the most strategically important block of the national economy, because people cannot survive without eating,” emphasises M. Liopa. In his view, the current situation opens up new opportunities for the land-based sectors in Latvia (food, forestry, and also peat). “Russia and Ukraine were major players in the grain market, and Latvia can certainly capture a portion of the pie from these countries, so the state must encourage grain growers to sow every little patch of land,” says M. Liopa. He believes there are also opportunities for the forestry sector, as compensatory solutions will be sought for the shortage of Russian and Belarusian wood and its products. “In Latvia, the forest area has doubled compared to the 1920s, but the volume of wood growing in the forest has tripled, and the annual volume of regeneration felling is about twice as low as the annual forest growth. These assertions are also based on data from the National Forest Inventory, which shows the volume and dynamics of our forest assets,” M. Liopa replies when asked if there are reserves in the forest. He believes that another important area is peat extraction and the peat substrate produced from it, the demand for which was already increasing annually, but with the isolation of Russia and Belarus from these product supplies to Europe, this product will be in even higher demand. “This means that bureaucratic procedures for including new peat extraction fields into economic circulation must be shortened,” M. Liopa suggests. In his view, in current circumstances, all disagreements and disputes should be put aside, as well as issues related to withdrawing new areas from economic activity. “It cannot be that right here, not far from Latvia, everything is currently being cut down and what cannot be cut is being burned, while here we fight for natural capital and impose new restrictions on the economic use of land,” M. Liopa replies when asked if the proposed solutions are not in conflict with the EU Green Deal. He is quick to add, however, that the aforementioned does not mean destroying natural values located in reserves, nature sanctuaries, and other areas. “The most important thing is the people of Latvia, because without people, a country cannot exist,” says M. Liopa. In his view, excise tax rates should also be reduced in a situation where the price of fuel is already rapidly approaching the 2 euro per litre mark, so that the price of this important resource is more affordable for people. “And another essential thing in this geopolitical situation—we must not forget about what will happen in the Latvian countryside; will we have jobs, a set dinner table, and money? And how do we support people, maintain the country's economy, and not fall into the trap of wrong decisions? There is no time left at all!” says M. Liopa.