ENVIRONMENT

Policy principles

Latvenergo Group’s environmental protection activities are defined in the Sustainability Policy and Environmental and Energy Management Policy. Their goal is to ensure sustainable economic activity in accordance with national and international environmental protection standards. The Group’s environmental activities aim to:

  • continuously improve the environmental performance of all operating segments and activities;
  • prevent or reduce the impact of the Group’s activities on the environment and climate change and proceed towards climate neutrality;
  • conserve and preserve biodiversity, nature and energy resources, as well as the health and well-being of the population;
  • create environmental awareness among employees for a considerate and responsible attitude towards the environment and energy resources.



The Group organises its activities and plans its development based on the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the European Green Deal, complying with external and internal legislation in the fields of energy management, environmental and nature protection, as well as identifying and respecting the needs of customers, affected communities and other stakeholders.

Latvenergo Group’s ability to continuously improve its environmental performance is confirmed by a certified ISO 14001-compliant environmental management system and an ISO 50001-compliant energy management system.

Climate

The Group is committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, supporting the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming. The Group’s transition strategy focuses on three main areas: decarbonisation, development of RES, and improvements in energy efficiency. Latvenergo Group has set two important climate targets:

  • in the medium term, to reduce its direct GHG emissions by 47% (compared to 2021) by 2030 while increasing the share of RES in electricity generation to 80%
  • in the long term, an ambitious goal of achieving climate neutrality in electricity generation by 2040; to attain it, active research is taking place in the area of CHPP decarbonisation solutions, with assessments of other technological options to reduce emissions

The GHG emissions reduction target indicators were developed with consideration of the EU Green Deal goals and the 2021–2030 Latvian National Energy and Climate Plan into account. The target indicators were set based on the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario and the energy sector decarbonisation roadmap.

The assessment of Latvenergo Group’s GHG emissions was conducted in accordance with the requirements of ISO 14064-1 and the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.

Most of the Group’s total direct emissions are from combustion plants participating in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The total amount also includes emissions related to ensuring the energy production process. In addition to the amount indicated, CO2 emissions are attributable to fuel used for transport and machinery. The Group also operates equipment that uses fluorine-containing GHG gases.

Indirect scope 2 GHG emissions are emissions from the generation of electricity and heat (as part of maintaining its generation and administrative buildings) purchased by the company from other energy producers.

Scope 3 GHG emissions are other indirect emissions resulting from the company's activities – from supply chains and from the use of the company's products and services. While in 2023 four categories of emissions were included in Scope 3 calculation, the 2024 annual report already takes account of all significant Scope 3 emissions related to the Group’s activities (1.-9., 11.-13. categories).


Latvenergo Group GHG emissions 


 Units Target for 2030 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Scope 1 emissions thousand t - 47%* 860 928 673 717 780
From Combustion plants thousand t
852 920 665 708 772
From fuel for transportation and machinery thousand t
8 8 8 8 8
Leaks of flourinated GHGs thousand t
0 0 0 0.4 0.4
Scope 2 emissions (market -based) thousand t

76 117 107 114
From generation of purchased electricity thousand t
- 7 6 9 8
From generation of purchased thermal energy thousand t
- 1 1 0.7 0.5
From electricity distribution losses thousand t
- 69 110 98 106
Scope 3 emissions (location -based) thousand t

62 32 39 36
From generation of purchased electricity thousand t
- 5 0 10 9
From generation of purchased thermal energy thousand t
- 1 1 0.7 0.5
From electricity distribution losses thousand t
- 56 31 27 27
Scope 3 emissions thousand t


2,731 3,002 3,413
GHG Protocol Category 1 thousand t
- - 52 73 123
GHG Protocol Category2 thousand t
- - 6 14 16
GHG Protocol Category 3 thousand t
- - 2,487 2,628 3,034
GHG Protocol Category 11 thousand t
- - 185 179 236


See infographic

By committing to climate neutrality, Latvenergo will contribute to global efforts to reduce emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Moving towards climate neutrality is an important factor in the company’s sustainable development path, contributing not only to environmental protection and risk reduction but also to its reputation and long-term development.

Reduce direct CO2 emissions by 2030*

Performance indicator: <500 000 t per year (*compared to 2021)

Increase the share of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2030

Performance indicator: 80% electricity generated from RES


Reduce indirect (Scope 3) CO2 emissions from electricity trade**

Performance indicator: 20% less CO2 in 2030 (**compared to 2022)


Achieve climate neutrality in electricity generation by 2040

Performance indicator: 0,06 t CO2/MWh generated electricity in 2030


Performance in 2024

  • Scope 1 GHG emissions: -16% compared to 2021
  • GHG emissions from electricity retail sales: 2,744 thousand tCO2 or +23% compared to 2022
  • The share of green electricty in retail sales: 9%
  • The share of RES in energy generation: 66%

Environmental information

Emissions of air pollutants into the atmosphere directly depend on the amount of energy produced, the fuel used, the efficiency of its use and the type of technology.

  • Natural gas is used by Latvenergo AS CHPPs and by some of the production facilities in Liepāja. When natural gas burns, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) are released into the atmosphere.
  • CHPPs of Latvenergo AS use diesel as an emergency fuel. In the heating season of 2022/2023, diesel was also used as an alternative fuel to natural gas at the CHPPs in the context of the energy crisis. In addition to NOx and CO, its combustion also releases sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter into the atmosphere. Hydrocarbon emissions occur during the storage of diesel fuel.
  • The use of wood as a fuel in the Liepaja plants means the emission of NOx, CO and particulate matter.

NOx, CO, SO2 and other emissions
Units
Target for 2030
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
NOx
t
648 686
374
534
512
NOx from combustion plants
kg/MWh
0.19 0.15 0.13 0.17
0.15
NOx for the Group combined
kg/MWh
0,03
 0.11 0.10 0.07 0.08
0.08
CO
t
319 363
231
358
333
CO ombustion plants
kg/MWh
0.09 0.08 0.08 0.12
0.10
CO for the Group combined
kg/MWh
0,02
 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.05
0.05
SO2
t
5
5
 25 14
6
Other*
t
15 19 23 23
25

*incl. emissions of solid particulate matter and hydrocarbons

The amount of emissions per unit of energy generated, or specific emissions, is influenced by the efficiency of the energy generation processes and technical solutions used to reduce pollutant emissions. The Group continues the development of RES generation capacity (wind and solar power plants) and increase the efficiency of existing power plants and maximum use of RES.

Reduce air emissions by 2030
Reduce pollution
Performance indicator: 47% less NOx and CO per unit of energy generated

*compared to 2022

 Performance indicator: 0 significant cases


The Group uses water resources mainly for the provision of production processes, as well as in small quantities for other economic needs and for the water supply to external consumers. In accordance with the Water Resources Atlas of the World Resources Institute, Latvia is in a low to low-medium water stress zone, therefore, there are no specific water consumption restrictions. The amount of surface and/or groundwater consumption is specified in the permits of each facility. The Group's water consumption balance includes surface water, groundwater, and tap water.

By developing RES generation and implementing water-saving measures to the extent technically feasible, Latvenergo will significantly reduce water consumption per unit of energy generated.

Latvenergo’s Daugava HPPs reservoirs are classified as heavily modified water bodies with limited possibilities to improve their quality; however, Latvenergo is implementing biodiversity conservation activities which have an impact on the quality of water bodies and are included in the management plan of Daugava River Basin.

Water consumption in 2024 (thousand m3):

Specific water consumption in 2024 (m3 /MWhel)

Water consumption

Indicator

Unit

2021

2022

2023

2024

Water withdrawal

thousand m³

2544

1887

2297

2232

Water discharge

thousand m³

1672

1181

1747

1624

Total net water consumption

thousand m³

872

706

550

608


Reduce water consumption 

Performance indicator: 65% less per unit of energy generated
*compared to 2022

Latvenergo Group promotes efficient use of energy resources by recording and analysing the flow of energy consumption, identifying essential energy consumption for ensuring production and economic processes and implementing measures to reduce energy consumption. 

The Group has a balanced and environmentally friendly energy generation portfolio, consisting mostly of hydropower plants and highly efficient combined heat and power plants. In 2024, 53% of energy was generated from RES.

Latvenergo Group's direct energy consumption covers all forms of energy use, including those that contribute to Scope 1 GHG emissions. This includes all fuels used in the Group’s CHPPs and boiler houses, as well as other energy sources: petrol and diesel fuel. Indirect energy consumption consists of the Group’s heat and electricity consumption.

Special attention is paid to issues related to waste reduction and appropriate waste management by evaluating possibilities of reuse, regeneration and recycling. The Group has introduced measures and technologies that help reduce waste at the source. Processes are improved and resource use is optimised to reduce consumption of materials and energy resources, thus reducing the generation of waste and promoting its reuse.

Latvenergo Group has made a commitment to promote the durability, reuse and recycling of equipment and materials at the end of their life cycle during RES projects.


Energy produced


 Units 2023 2024 Changes
Energy produced from renewable energy sources  % 58 53 -5%
Water % 55 48
Wind % <0.1 <0.1
Sun % <0.1 0.7
Wood materials
% 3 4
Energy produced from fossil energy sources  % 42 48 5%
Natural gas
% 41 48
Diesel fuel (including small amounts of coal and LPG)
% 0.9 <0.1
Electricity generated
GWh 5,134 4,842 -6%
From renewable energy sources
% 73 66 -7%
From non-renewable energy sources
% 13 34 21%
Heating energy produced
GWh 1,706 1,671 -2%
From renewable energy sources
% 12 13 0.3%
From non-renewable energy sources
% 88 87 -0.3%


Energy consumption and energy source structure 


 Units 2023 2024 Changes
Total energy consumption, fossil energy sources
MWh 3,714,990 4,077,570 10%
Fuel consumption from natural gas
MWh
3,459,468
3,859,343

Fuel consumption from petroleum products
MWh
62,178
143
Fuel consumption from coal and coal products
MWh
51 0
Consumption of fuel for vehicles and machinery
MWh
31,489
28,424

including diesel fuel consumption
MWh
27,294
24,963  

including petrol consumption
MWh
4,195
3,462

Consumption of purchased fossil fuel electricity
MWh
158,513
186,062

Consumption of purchased fossil fuel thermal energy
MWh
3,291
3,598

Energy consumption, nuclear energy sources*
MWh
37,076
23,314
-37%
Total energy consumption, renewable energy sources
MWh
364,272
364,160
0%
Fuel consumption from renewable energy sources
MWh
264,802
270,720

Consumption of purchased renewable energy electricity
MWh
95,910
89,579

Consumption of purchased renewable thermal energy
MWh
3,561
3,860

Total energy consumption
MWh
4,116,339
4,465,044
8%
Share of fossil energy resources in total energy consumption
% 90
91

Share of nuclear energy in total energy consumption
% 0.9 0.5

Share of renewable energy resources in total energy consumption
% 8.9 8.2

Energy intensity**
MWh/EUR
0.0020 0.0026
30%


* Consumption as the share of nuclear power in uncertified electricity
**Total energy consumption per net income

Develop renewable energy technologies by promoting a circular economy

Performance indicator: more than 90% recycable materials in new wind turbines

Latvenergo Group takes care of biodiversity conservation by assessing the impact of existing and planned activities on biodiversity and by implementing statutory and voluntary measures to reduce the impact on specially protected nature areas, species and habitats.

Overhead and cable power lines located in specially protected areas or micro-reserves stretch for 6,500 km and cover an area of 4,700 ha, or 0.05% of the total area of power lines. Construction and maintenance of power lines shall be carried out by Sadales tīkls AS in compliance with the laws and regulations governing the protection and use of specially protected nature areas, ensuring the preservation of nature values and preventing a significant negative impact on these territories.

Other Latvenergo Group facilities, as well as the sites of planned activities (WPPs, SPPs, electricity charging stations) that are owned or leased by the Group, or sites where development rights have been acquired by the Group, are located outside areas with high biodiversity value.

To reduce the impact of its operations on biodiversity, the Group makes annual payments for the restoration of fish resources in the River Daugava Basin in accordance with the requirements of regulatory enactments. In 2023, approximately 1.5 million juveniles of salmon, sea trout, pikeperch and vimba, and 6.9 million lamprey larvae were released into the rivers. In addition, the Group also implements other projects to improve fish habitats and migration, e.g., placing artificial fish spawning nests in the River Daugava and cleaning small rivers in the Daugava River Basin. In 2023, as many as 450 artificial fish spawning nests were installed in the River Daugava and monitored with underwater cameras.

The most significant potential impact on biodiversity of the Group’s investment projects relates to the development of WPPs. In order to ensure that the negative impacts of the planned WPP projects are balanced, the activities are planned in close cooperation with nature experts, as well as nature and environmental institutions.

Reduce the impact of the HPPs on biodiversity
Reduce the impact of investment projects on nature
Performance indicator: 25 km improved ecolocigal quality of rivers in the Daugava basin Performance indicator: Plant an equivalent number of new trees during deforestation for WPP projects

Based on the requirements of the Water Management Law (2002) and Cabinet Regulation No. 736 of 23 December 2003 “Regulations Regarding a Permit for the Use of Water Resources”, all Daugava hydropower plants have been issued Permits for the Use of Water Resources, which set out the conditions for the use of water resources that must be met while operating hydropower plants.


The State Environmental Service has issued permits for the performance of a Category A polluting activity for the operation of Latvenergo AS combined heat and power plants.


Permits issued by Latvenergo AS are available in the Public Data Register of the State Environmental Service.

Impact assessments

Active EIA procedures

The Energy and Environment Agency has received applications and adopted decisions regarding the application and initiation of EIA procedures at seven potential WPP regions of Latvijas vēja parki SIA, located in Aizkraukle, Limbaži, Valmiera, Ķekava, Ogre, Bauska, Jēkabpils, Līvāni, Augšdaugava, Ventspils and Kuldīga districts. In these municipalities, initial public consultations on the proposed activities and voluntary information seminars-workshops have been organised. Work on drafting EIA reports is in progress in the end of 2024 within the framework of all projects. More detailed information about the EIA procedure is available on the website of the Energy and Environment Agency and https://vejaparki.lv/.

Risk management

Industrial accident risks apply to facilities where the maximum quantities of hazardous chemicals or hazardous mixtures that are stored and used exceed the qualifying quantities set out in Cabinet Regulation No. 131, Adopted on 1 March 2016, Industrial Accident Risk Assessment Procedures and Risk Reduction Measures.

The responsible personnel of such high-hazard facilities have a duty to assess the risk of industrial accidents and develop and implement the necessary industrial accident risk reduction measures in order to ensure the safety and protection of employees, neighbouring residents and the public from the harmful effects of an industrial accident, as well as to preserve the quality of the environment.

Latvenergo AS classifies the CHPP-1 and CHPP-2 as lower-tier facilities, which are required to develop an industrial accident prevention programme and take other measures to reduce the risk of industrial accidents as provided for by the regulation, as well as to prepare publicly available information material for residents, businesses and organisations in the vicinity of the facility on the actions to be taken in the event of industrial accidents and threats thereof, and on the protective measures provided for in these cases.

Environmental risk assessment ensures the identification of environmental risks at the facilities operated by Latvenergo Group, risk assessment, classification of risk tier and implementation of risk management measures in accordance with the risk tier, as well as compliance with all requirements of the environmental management standard ISO 14001:2015 regarding the identification of environmental aspects, assessment of their environmental impact and the identification of significant environmental aspects.

One of the main objectives of an environmental management system is to assess and effectively manage environmental risks. Risk and opportunity assessment is carried out to analyse and assess the business and operating environment of the company with the objective of identifying inherent risks and opportunities, their likelihood of occurrence and their significance for the company. Actual and potential adverse impacts are identified, assessed, and, where necessary, prioritised.

Environmental risks are identified at all facilities of Latvenergo Group by identifying the environmental risks of risk sources under normal operating conditions, under abnormal conditions, and in emergency situations. The identification of risks takes into account the fact that potential environmental risks may be caused by technical defects in the equipment, violations of operational modes, as well as personnel errors (human factors) or external factors. The preventive measures implemented on-site to reduce the risk are recorded, and their efficiency is evaluated.

Businesses need to implement measures to improve their capacity to adapt to climate change and its impacts, as well as to enhance climate resilience and seize the opportunities that climate change offers. To efficiently mitigate the risks and potential impacts of climate change, it is important to assess the impacts early and, where necessary, to develop and implement risk reduction/adaptation measures that are based on the results of the assessment in areas affected by climate change.

Given the fact that climate risks can impact the viability, competitiveness and performance of a company directly – in order to assess the potential impact of climate risks on the operations of Latvenergo and to make decisions on the measures of climate risk mitigation and adaptation, Latvenergo provides a climate change risk assessment for all facilities operated by the Group by assessing extreme events or acute risks in depth, identifying risks and opportunities that could potentially affect the conduct of business activities over time. Based on the level of identified climate change risks, decisions on the need for climate adaptation measures and the development of climate adaptation measures are made by providing the financial resources, responsibilities and timelines required.

Assuming that climate change in the Baltic states will be limited to isolated weather risks that will increase slightly in frequency and severity, but with no drastic changes expected in areas that can affect business-critical infrastructure in the long term, the impact of chronic climate change risks has not yet been evaluated within the framework of the assessment.