Following the building permit issued by the Jelgava Municipality at the end of 2022 for the construction of a 90 MW wind farm by Laflora in the Kaigu swamp, Jelgava Municipality, the project planning phase has concluded and implementation is underway. Construction work on the Laflora wind farm is scheduled to begin in the first half of this year, with electricity production set to start as early as 2025.
An agreement has also been concluded with AS Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST) for the construction of a 90 MW capacity grid connection, for which a construction design was developed and approved in 2022. The construction of the connection is planned to start concurrently with the wind farm construction work.
Currently, the coordination of wind farm settings and operational modes with various institutions is ongoing.
The Laflora wind farm project is being developed by Laflora Energy, a subsidiary of the peat extraction and processing company Laflora, in collaboration with the wind farm developer SIA Windy.
Developing such large-scale projects is complex, but at the same time, it provides new opportunities. We have expanded the wind farm project with a second phase, which provides for the creation of hybrid wind and solar power plants in the Kaigu swamp with an additional 110 MW of planned installed capacity, which we have reserved with AST. This means that the total renewable energy capacity in the Kaigu swamp will reach 200 MW in the future,” says Uldis Ameriks, member of the board of Laflora Energy.
Given the complex situation in the energy sector, we are looking for ways to accelerate project implementation as much as possible so that we can start supplying zero-emission electricity. Last year, we worked intensively on all types of engineering surveys to find the most optimal technical solutions for turbine foundations, access roads, etc. For example, upon concluding our wind measurement campaign, we were pleasantly surprised by results that exceeded initial forecasts,” points out Aleksejs Mitušovs, representative of the Laflora wind farm developer Windy.
Final negotiations are currently underway with potential strategic partners regarding attracting investments for the project. Investments in the wind farm will exceed 120 million euros.
This project is a materialisation of the European Green Deal concept. It will allow Laflora to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, not only by fully offsetting the GHG emissions generated in peat extraction and processing but also by providing an opportunity to create a platform for further sustainable development of the entire Zemgale region,” says Uldis Ameriks.
Peat extraction in the Kaigu swamp will conclude in the coming years, which is why the further use, or reclamation, of this territory is being planned – for renewable energy production. With the green energy produced in the Kaigu swamp, Laflora will provide for its own electricity consumption in its peat product manufacturing plant and technological processes, as well as create a green industrial zone.
In the industrial zone, by promoting local peat consumption, it is planned to develop the largest and most modern plant nursery in the Baltics, which will include greenhouse complexes for growing vegetables and forest seedlings. There are plans to create production facilities that will test innovative and carbon-sequestering products, research for which has already begun in collaboration with scientists. It is intended to attract circular economy companies and production facilities with high energy consumption in their production processes, allowing them to produce in a climate-neutral manner. This will allow for the preservation of the existing 290 jobs and the creation of approximately 120 additional new jobs. Currently, in parallel with negotiations on attracting investment for the wind farm, which is the key to creating the green industrial zone, active negotiations are taking place regarding attracting investment for its development,” notes Laflora development director Sabīna Alta.
About the Laflora wind farm:
Number of wind turbines: 22
Turbine height: 251 m
Wind farm capacity in the first project phase: 90 MW
Average annual energy production: 300,000 MWh or approximately 5% of Latvia's total annual electricity consumption
Carbon savings by 2050: 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent
Investments in wind farm development: over 120 million euros
Wind farm opening: 2025
Laflora is one of the largest peat extraction and processing companies in Latvia, which has been producing peat substrates for horticulture, forestry, and agriculture since 1995. The company employs 290 staff members, and in 2023, the company's net turnover reached 31.6 million euros according to unaudited data.