Saeima Committee Still Divided Over Letting Municipalities Reject Wind Farms at a Capacity Threshold
A Saeima committee failed on Wednesday to agree on whether municipalities should be able to reject wind farm projects once a set capacity is reached. It will revisit the issue next week.
The Saeima's Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee failed on Wednesday to reach a compromise on whether Latvian municipalities should be able to reject wind power projects when wind farms with a certain capacity already exist in their territory. Members did not vote on any of the proposed versions, and the committee will return to the matter next week. The delay holds up amendments to the law on environmental impact assessment (EIA), which sets out when and how the environmental impact of planned activities must be assessed.
The disputed proposal
On 3 September, the Saeima, Latvia's parliament, backed in the second reading a provision allowing decisions on the expediency of wind farms if a municipality already hosts at least 150 megawatts (MW) of wind parks, or a planning region hosts at least 500 MW. The committee itself had earlier rejected this proposal, which caused disagreement at almost every session. The committee has been reviewing the amendments for the second reading for more than a year.
For the third reading, the Ministry of Climate and Energy proposed a different wording. A municipality could refuse only if wind projects totalling at least 150 MW have been approved and the competent authority's cumulative impact assessment finds a significant negative effect on the environment, landscape or residents' quality of life. Ministry state secretary Līga Kurevska said the 500 MW threshold had been dropped and that this was a compromise.
Objections
The Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments objected that the new wording narrows municipal rights and does not cover wind parks located in two municipalities, and urged support for the second-reading decision. Member of parliament Kaspars Briškens (P) called for a return to the committee's second-reading decision to delete the provision, while continuing to seek a compromise. Deputy Skaidrīte Ābrama pointed to legal uncertainty. Alnis Bāliņš, chairman of the Latvian Renewable Energy Association, warned of litigation risk and difficulty attracting financing. Deputy Jānis Patmalnieks (JV) said the proposal had held the bill "hostage" for over a year and called for separating municipal responsibility for spatial planning from the State Environmental Service's role in EIA.
The amendments aim to reduce administrative burden, strengthen investor legal certainty and streamline public information. They were previously due to take effect on 1 January 2026.
