28 April 2022

10h00 – 16h00 EET

HYBRID CONFERENCE

ABOUT THE EVENT

Wind energy plays a key role in decarbonising Europe. Latvia has the second largest offshore wind potential in the entire Baltic Sea region that has not yet been explored. Harnessing offshore wind could bring many opportunities to the Baltic sea region, as it is dynamic, jobs-rich, and future-proof. How is Latvia going to promote offshore wind sector and overcome the existing political and regulatory hurdles?

Join the “WindWorks. Rethinking Energy” conference on 28 April to seek the answers and to shape the offshore wind energy future in Latvia together!

Conference recording

BACKGROUND

The event “WindWorks. Rethinking Energy” is the only wind conference in Latvia organised by the industry and bringing together experienced international energy experts, stakeholders and policy makers to discuss the future of wind energy in Latvia. This year, the main focus of the conference will be on offshore wind energy. The offshore sector in Latvia is growing rapidly as many global players have their eye on the Latvian coastline and with the Latvian - Estonian cross-border project ELWIND, first of its kind, on the way. Combining our energy needs while meeting our climate targets and protecting the biodiversity of the Baltic Sea is a challenge. Hence, we need substantial investments, favourable policies and regulation in support. Climate neutral technologies are key to building a clean and sustainable economy. Countries like Denmark have set an example inspiring others by harnessing wind energy as a cheap and truly renewable source of energy.

The conference is organised by the Latvian Wind Energy Association, the Danish Embassy in Latvia, business technology platform BiSMART, in cooperation with Latvenergo AS.

PROGRAMME

Join Us

10.00

WELCOME BY JURIS KABAKOVS

CEO, BiSMART. Introduction of the speakers

10.05

EGILS LEVITS

President of the Republic of Latvia

10.10

KADRI SIMSON

EU Commission, European Commissioner for Energy

10:15

DAN JØRGENSEN

The Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities

10:20

TOMS NĀBURGS

Latvian Wind Energy Association, Member of the Board

10.05

EGILS LEVITS

President of the Republic of Latvia

10:25

Panel I
CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION TO ACHIEVE CLIMATE NEUTRALITY

Achieving climate neutrality has been a priority for the EU for the past years. It has set ambitious goals through the EU Fit for 55 plan and the EU Climate law. EU Member states will not just have to up their work on reducing carbon emissions, but will also have to work together to achieve these targets. Latvia and Estonia have joined forces on an impressive collaboration on offshore wind energy to create Elwind, a two-country offshore wind park, to increase the renewable energy production in both countries. In the first panel discussion of WindWorks: Rethinking Energy conference we will look at the progress of this project, the obstacles and the opportunities in cross-border collaboration and how this can be the way forward not for the Baltic states but also for the whole Baltic Sea region and the EU.

- Edijs Šaicāns, Latvian Ministry of Economics, Undersecretary of State (tbc)

- Mette Cramer Buch, Chief Advisor, Centre for Global Cooperation, Danish Energy Agency

- Timo Tatar, Deputy Secretary General for Energy and Mineral Resources

- Andris Ķēniņš, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Republic of Latvia, Deputy State Secretary for the Environment Protection

- Hannah Mary Goodlad, Equinor, Head of Baltic Sea Area Development

Moderator: Reinis Āboltiņš, Senior market surveillance expert, Public Utilities Commission

11:25

Panel II
CAN WE RELY ON OFFSHORE WIND FOR LOW ELECTRICITY PRICES?

In 2021, Europe experienced an unprecedented energy crisis due to geopolitical and environmental reasons, which led to sky-high energy prices worldwide. Low amounts of wind and its unpredictability has been mentioned as the main reason for the crises. At the same time it can be clearly seen that countries who are able to cover their own energy needs with higher wind power capacity, are less vulnerable to high energy prices and political moves. So, what role does wind energy play in all this? Can we hope to solve our dependability on gas and expect low prices by boosting our onshore and offshore wind industries?

- Kaspars Cikmačs, Latvenergo, Member of the Management Board and Chief Development Officer

- Giles Dickson, WindEurope, CEO

- Ivars Zariņš, Former Commissioner of Public utilities commission and Member of parliament

- Hannah Mary Goodlad, Equinor, Head of Baltic Sea Area Development

- Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska, Orlen, Offshore Wind Farms Office Director

Moderator: Reinis Āboltiņš, Senior market surveillance expert, Public Utilities Commission

12:45

Panel III
OFFSHORE KNOCKING ON LATVIA’S DOOR - ARE WE WELCOMING IT?

There is no denying that offshore wind is the new “big thing” in the Baltics and Latvia is the country with the second biggest wind potential in the region. However, before tapping on this new green gold, region specific regulations and infrastructure must be put in place involving the relevant stakeholders in the process – no small feat. Join the discussion to learn how far is Latvia in these processes at the moment, and how it can adopt the best practices from other countries.

- Edijs Šaicāns, Ministry of Economics, Republic of Latvia, Undersecretary of State

- Pål Coldevin, RWE Renewables, Executive Vice President for Offshore Development Nordics, Poland & Baltics

- Priit Lepasepp, Sunly, CEO and Co-founder

- Aavo Kärmas, Enefit Green, CEO

- Marianne Beck Hassl, Ørsted, Lead Market Developer

Moderator: Reinis Āboltiņš, Senior market surveillance expert, Public Utilities Commission

13:45

Panel IV
GRID – THE BACKBONE OF OFFSHORE DEPLOYMENT

Without a grid, there is no offshore wind power. As we are getting ready for building our first parks, we must also be thinking about expanding the grid for two reasons. The first is, of course, to enable all the new power which will be generated by the offshore wind parks, the second - to make a swift transition from a country which relies on energy imports to becoming an energy exporting country. Join this panel discussion to find out what are Latvia’s plans for expanding our grid, what challenges lay ahead, and which countries can we expect collaboration projects with.

- Arnis Daugulis, transmission system operator in Latvia "Augstsprieguma tīkls", Member of the Board

- Klaus Thostrup, Energinet, European Affairs Manager

- Getlyn Allikivi, Elering, Head of Offshore Grid Unit

- Alnis Bāliņš, European Energy, Head of Riga office

-Mariusz Wójcik, Ramboll, Director Project Development & Advisory Offshore Wind, Poland and Baltics

Moderator: Reinis Āboltiņš, Senior market surveillance expert, Public Utilities Commission

14:55

Panel V
ELECTRIFICATION OF LATVIA – A DREAM OR REALITY?

Even though wind at sea is more consistent than wind on land, it is still not a 24/7 resource that we can request on demand. It has to be harnessed, so that we can satisfy the demand and the needs of the society when they arise. Taking into account the electrification of Europe and in order to achieve our climate goals, we can expect this need to increase significantly. Using affordable offshore wind power to create green hydrogen may just be the answer. The hydrogen resource has a good potential - ranging from serving the role of wind energy accumulation to replacing blue gas in space heating and transport. Denmark, The Netherlands, and Norway are all moving ahead with hydrogen from offshore wind energy. Join the panel to learn more about the gains from the green hydrogen technology and its perspective in Latvia.

- Māris Balodis, Latvenergo, Research and Development Director

- Aivars Starikovs, Latvian Hydrogen Association,CEO/Hydrogen Europe, Member of the Board

- Grzegorz Jóźwiak, Orlen, Director, Alternative fuels

- Daniel Fraile, Hydrogen Europe, Chief Policy officer

Moderator: Reinis Āboltiņš, Senior market surveillance expert, Public Utilities Commission

15:55