From complete rejection to full support – such were the varying opinions at a public consultation video conference organised by SIA “Fortum Latvia”, attended by around a hundred Jelgava residents, which was dedicated to diversifying fuel and increasing energy production at the biomass cogeneration plant in Jelgava. Until now, it has been fuelled in two ways – with wood chips (85 per cent) and natural gas (15 per cent). Now, “Fortum Latvia” plans to introduce waste co-incineration into energy production. Specifically, starting from the 2024 heating season, it would no longer be fuelled by pure wood chips, but instead would be supplemented by a mixed waste mass made up of household waste – plastic, cardboard, paper, textiles, and wood impurities. The proportion of this additive would not exceed 35 per cent. By introducing waste co-incineration, the plan is to increase the amount of energy produced at the cogeneration plant by 35 per cent. This increase is linked to “Fortum”’s long-term plans to further reduce the use of natural gas in heat energy production. “Fortum” also plans to continue connecting new customers (including private houses) to the centralised heating system, as well as supplying heat energy in the form of heated water or steam to industrial consumers.