19.08.2022
The production of electricity from solar energy continues to grow at an extremely fast pace in Latvia; moreover, the pace of development of microgeneration (mostly solar panels in households) in Latvia is currently significantly higher than in Estonia, where the distributed generation boom started earlier. Around 2,800 new micro-generators were connected to the distribution network in Latvia in the first half of 2022 (January – June), or an average of around 470 per month, compared to 1,165 micro-generators in Estonia (around 200 per month)*.
At the end of the first half of the year, the total number of micro-generators connected to the distribution network was around 4,800 in Latvia and 5,580 in Estonia. At the moment, the total number of micro-generators connected to the system in Latvia has already exceeded 7,200 micro-generators (with a total electricity production capacity of around 56 MW), so within about a month and a half, another 2,400 new micro-generators have been connected to the system. Besides, in July, JSC Sadales tīkls received a record number of new applications for the connection of micro-generators – nearly 2,200. For comparison, a total of 140 applications were received in July of last year, which is about 16 times less. Given the growing interest, it is expected that the number of micro-generators connected to the system could exceed 10,000 by the end of the year.
“In terms of the pace of development of microgeneration, we have noticeably outpaced our Estonian colleagues, who faced the solar energy boom faster and where it is still ongoing. Our success story is based on fully digitised processes that allow us to process applications and evaluate the connection very quickly – on average, we process microgeneration applications within one or two working days. Anyone who wants to generate electricity for their own consumption in the household can easily submit an application for connecting a micro-generator in our customer service portal e-st.lv; please be reminded that state support programmes are also available for this,” as explained by Sandis Jansons, Executive director of Sadales tīkls.
In Latvia, there is also a high interest in the development of power plants (generation system with capacity of more than 11.1 kW) – Sadales tīkls receives dozens of new applications for power plant connection every week. Even more rapid development of solar energy has been facilitated by amendments to the Electricity Market Law, which simplified the process of connecting power plants with a capacity of up to 500 kW. The amendments stipulate that as of 11 August of this year, the permission of the Ministry of Economy is no longer required for connecting a generation system to the distribution network, if its capacity does not exceed 500 kW. For comparison: in the week before 11 August, an average of around 20 new applications for power plant connection were received, while in the first week after 11 August, it doubled – around 40 applications were received.
“The connection process for small and medium-sized power plants, which companies basically install to cover their own consumption, has just been eased, and we can see this effect in the number of applications received. Our current top priority is to ensure the acceptance of all distributed generation in the network and we are investing all available resources to connect new producers to the unified power grid as quickly as possible, while carefully following the aspects of security of power supply. We process each power plant application and issue technical requirements within 15 working days on average. After receiving the technical requirements, the developer can move on to the design and construction of the connection. Of course, in some cases, taking into account the huge interest and the technical complexity of certain objects, the processing of the application may take a little longer,” S. Jansons explains.
At the moment, capacities in the electricity distribution network have been reserved and technical requirements for the development of the project have been issued for almost 550 future power stations with a total capacity of more than 1,000 MW.
The process of connecting power plants, as well as construction, is more time-consuming than that of micro-generators, taking into account both the existing legal framework and the scope of the projects. Accordingly, a total of around 150 solar power plants with a total power generation capacity of approximately 10 MW are currently connected to the distribution network, and the majority of them are in the construction phase. It is predicted that solar energy will already start making a noticeable addition to the total balance of energy produced in Latvia in the summer of 2023, when the projects currently under construction will be implemented.
It is possible to connect power plants with a capacity of up to 14,999 MW to the infrastructure of the electricity distribution operator in Latvia. Larger power plants are connected to the electricity transmission network (JSC Augstsprieguma tīkls). More information on connecting a power plant or a micro-generator to Sadales tīkls is available on the company’s website www.sadalestikls.lv.
*https://www.elektrilevi.ee/en/uudised/avaleht/-/newsv2/2022/07/07/paikeseelektri-buum-jatkub-jaanipuhadel-katsid-paikesepargid-ule-poole-elektritarbimisest