Vestas enters Latvian wind power market with 59MW deal

Vestas has made its market entry into Latvia with an order for a wind farm that could double the Baltic country’s installed capacity.

It is due to supply 14 V146-4.2MW turbines with hub heights of 82 metres for the 59MW Targale Targale (59MW) OnshoreVentspils, Latvia, Europe Click to see full details wind farm in the west of the country.

Targale is being developed by a special purpose company majority-owned by Estonian utility Utilitas.

Turbine delivery is due to begin in the second quarter of 2022, with commissioning starting in the third quarter.

The manufacturer is also due to service the wind farm for 20 years.

Vestas opened its first office in Latvia in April 2021 and aims to set up a service hub as well.

No new wind farms have been built in Latvia since 2012, but the country aims to source 50% of its energy from renewables by 2030. In 2018, renewables accounted for 40% of its energy — mainly biomass and hydro — according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Nils de Baar, president of Vestas northern and central Europe, said: “We are positive about Latvia as a market. This project can be a bellwether for the Latvian wind industry, as the country advances its strong performance on clean energy towards 50% renewable energy penetration by 2030.”

At a conference at the end of April, WindEurope called for Latvia to enable wind farm development in state-owned forests and allow municipal governments and local communities to benefit financially from local projects.

The industry body’s CEO, Giles Dickson, also called for Latvia to introduce contract for difference auctions to minimise the costs of financing investments in wind farms.