At a political level, discussions are becoming increasingly topical regarding the potential for our energy sector to once again use our own fuel – peat.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the conversation around abandoning energy resources from our aggressive eastern neighbour took on a completely different pace and intensity. Primarily, to avoid funding the Kremlin's brutal war machine, and secondly, due to the risk that Moscow itself might turn off the gas tap.

Peat and its potential role in the energy sector is becoming an increasingly relevant issue, not only in Latvia but also, for instance, in Finland, which intends to expand the extraction of this resource to replace Russian wood chips.

The possibility of using peat as a fuel is not a new discovery in Latvia. In the past, it was actually standard practice. Even Latvenergo’s Riga CHPP-1 once used peat as fuel – until it was replaced by natural gas.

That largely marked the end of the era for peat as a heat source. It is still harvested for horticulture and agriculture, including in large volumes for export, whereas deeper-lying fuel peat is currently only used in selected locations in Latvia. (...)