The majority (78%) of the Latvian society supports wider use of renewable energy in Latvia, and the security and stability of electricity supply is increasingly considered important factors in electricity generation, according to a survey conducted by the Latvian Wind Energy Association and the research center SKDS. The support for renewables, in particular wind energy, among young people is stable and unchanged – in the age group up to 24 years, the support exceeds even 90%.
Stronger support for renewables can be observed in the answers of younger people and respondents with a higher level of education. Even 91% of respondents under the age of 24 and 86% of respondents under the age of 34 support the wider use of renewable energy in Latvia. Factors such as production efficiency and impact on the surrounding environment and nature are more important for this part of the society than for other age groups in the choice of sources of electricity generation.
“Public support for renewable energy in general has been consistently high in recent years, but every year we observe how different choices are influenced by external factors. The energy independence aspect rose sharply last year, whereas this year it has been ranked only the fifth most important factor when deciding on the electricity production portfolio. For youngsters with a higher level of education, the most important concern is impact on the environment and nature. At the same time these respondents show more support for both the use of renewable resources in general and the construction of wind farms near their homes. Older respondents emphasize practical aspects more than abstract benefits, which are more difficult for them to grasp,” says Arnis Kaktiņš, head of the research center SKDS.
Half of Latvia’s population admits the importance of electricity generation from local resources. 73% of the population agree that decentralization of electricity production is essential in order to reduce the risks of a complete blackout in critical situations. It is more supported by younger respondents, respondents with medium to high income level, as well as residents whose family speaks Latvian.
The most important criterion is cost
The final price of electricity has been indicated as the most important factor when preferring electricity generation – similar to last year, 60% of the population selected price the number one factor. On the other hand, compared to previous years, the factor of security and stability of electricity supply has increased the most – third of all respondent said it it important when choosing a source of electricity (35%, compared to last year – 29%). The third most important factor is viewed the impact on human health. The number of people who care about energy independence from other countries in connection with electricity production has decreased.
“The support for renewables among younger population creates a good basis to believe that we are increasingly moving towards wider public understanding and also practical support for renewables and also wind energy. However, when the energy crisis is no longer pressing, rational considerations increasingly remain in the background and the subjective factors take the spotlight, as the society tends to focus more on whether the landscape will be affected, tourism will decline, property values will fall. The opinion is getting stronger that we want to produce more electricity ourselves, just somewhere somewhere else, away from ones eye and property. We also see that people want direct benefits from wind farms that are being built near their homes. Hence the industry and policymakers need to urgently find a solution to that,” says Toms Nāburgs, head of the Latvian Wind Energy Association.
Biggest support for solar, wind and hydro
Given that the price were the same and the population could decide, the majority, or 71% of the public, would prefer electricity produced from renewable energy sources, and only 4% would prefer electricity produced from fossil energy sources.
When thinking about the development of various types of new electricity generation plants in Latvia, the most support goes to solar energy (solar PV panels), followed by the wind energy and the construction of new hydroelectric power plants (on the river Daugava). The survey carried out a year ago showed a public support for nuclear energy, however now a smaller part of the public sees the construction of nuclear power plants in a positive light.
“It is good that the myth about nuclear as a quick, cheap and easy electricity generation source is waning in society. People’s awareness of the different ways of obtaining electricity and the true impact of each resource on the environment and people has increased, as a safe construction of nuclear power plants takes more than 20 years and costs billions. However, we see that there is still a knowledge gap about the the electricity price and how it’s made. So, it’s our homework to think about how we can help iadress this issue. The use of renewable resources is still both the cheapest, the most environmentally friendly and the most sustainable source of electricity generation, and the understanding of the final electricity prices is their basis, leaving no room for other speculations,” says T. Nāburgs.
The construction of solar and wind farms would be primarily accepted near their homes
If a decision were made to build a new power plant near the place of residence, residents would most often accept the construction of new solar farms (62%), followed by wind farms (47%). The third most frequent choice from the point of view of citizens would be co-generation plants powered by wood chips (29%). The use of solar, wind and hydropower is consistently seen by society as the most environment friendly resources both for nature and people.
