Association: Wind developer used fake images in EIA, government threats unfounded
An association has urged Latvia's government to resist pressure from wind developer K2 Ventum, claiming its environmental impact assessment relied on manipulated images and its €120 million damages threat is unjustified.
An association has called on Latvia's government not to give in to pressure from wind energy developer K2 Ventum, alleging that its environmental impact assessment (EIA) was based on manipulated landscape visualisations. The group says trees were digitally added and forest areas artificially raised in photographs to hide planned wind turbines.
According to the association, residents raised the issue during the public consultation, but the EIA was not amended. The altered images were used to prepare the landscape assessment, which in turn served as the basis for a favourable opinion from the Energy and Environmental Agency and the Cabinet's approval to continue developing the project.
The developer this week publicly threatened the government and its ministers personally with legal claims. The association calls the threats unfounded, saying there can be no legal expectation of a positive EIA decision and that the announced €120 million in damages is exaggerated. It also notes that the project still violates territorial planning rules and is planned in a protected coastal zone where construction is prohibited. The impact on migratory birds has not been adequately assessed, and the association has obtained an independent ornithological opinion from Sweden.
In April, the government postponed its decision after finding two significant shortcomings: violations in the public consultation process and possible non-compliance with the Protective Zone Law. Rather than rejecting the project, it gave K2 Ventum a chance to fix the problems. The association says litigation is inevitable regardless of the outcome: either public interest groups or the developer will appeal. Until a final court ruling, the project cannot proceed, and a damages claim cannot be filed unless the court finds the government's decision unlawful.
The association urges the government to ignore the threats and make a decision based only on legal norms and objective assessment.
