LWEA Council met on 9 September to discuss changes in the organisation among which the Council decided to introduce a new governance model – applying the principle of management rotation. The Head will be elected from the Council and will change every two years. Each Council member has their own competencies and strengths, which will help to move the industry forward dynamically. The LWEA Council agreed that the association will be headed by Toms Naburgs, a member of the Board of SIA “Sunly Infra” in Latvia, replacing the current manager Andris Vanags (SIA “Gren Latvija”).
“The development of the wind sector in Latvia has been significantly delayed compared to the other Baltic States and the European Union as a whole. It is hindered by a number of factors such as resistance by local governments. Therefore one of our main tasks from now on is to ensure that large and investment intense projects important for meeting national energy and climate goals are implemented and not blocked at municipal level. Hence it is our priority to have the relationship between the wind energy business and local governments regulated in the law so that all players – both wind energy developers and local governments and local communities – are clear on the rules of the game.”
says Toms Naburgs, the new Head of the Latvian Wind Energy Association.
Toms Naburgs has more than ten years of experience in the development and implementation of renewable energy projects and has been among the founders of the Latvian Wind Energy Association. SIA “Sunly Infra” company, managed by him, is an independent energy company that develops, builds and operates renewable energy power plants in the Baltic States and Poland, mainly using wind and solar energy.
The former head of LWEA Andris Vanags has held the position since the beginning of 2020. During his time at the Association several important wind industry legislations have been adopted such as the “General Regulations for the Planning, Use and Building of the Territory” and the regulations on obtaining permits to increase electricity generation capacity or introduce new generation facilities. During his time, LWEA also focused on public awareness activities such as providing educational information to local media, creating video materials, a children’s book, as well as establishing a tradition of an annual wind energy conference in Latvia. In addition, A. Vanags was active in attracting new members and has established close cooperation with the European wind energy association WindEurope and the Baltic Sea Region wind energy associations, promoting mutual exchange of experience and best practices. A. Vanags will continue to work at LWEA as a member of the Council.
