Latvian hybrid park sparks dispute with Estonia
Friday 16th October 2026 on 20:15 in
Estonia
Construction of a wind and battery park in Latvia has become a source of tension with Estonia, ERR reported. The Lode hybrid park will have 18 wind turbines and battery storage, but its effects are expected to fall mainly on Estonian villages. Mulgi municipality tried unsuccessfully to challenge the project in a Latvian court.
Work is under way near Arakste village, where ground is being prepared and the first foundations have been poured. Equipment has been ordered. The park could begin supplying electricity in a year and be fully completed in the first half of the following year.
Utilitas Group chief executive Priit Koit said the project would include four-hour battery storage and connect to the third Estonia-Latvia interconnector. Electricity could flow to either country, depending on where demand is greater. The project is expected to cost €200 million. Utilitas also hopes to build four more turbines on the Estonian side.
Latvian Climate and Energy Ministry parliamentary secretary Einars Cilinskis said the municipality and local residents would receive up to €300,000 a year, bringing economic benefits to the region. The park is expected to meet the annual electricity needs of 110,000 households.
During the next six months, about 100 large trucks a day are expected to pass through Penuja village as sand and gravel are brought in from Estonia. Speed-limit signs have been put up along the road, which was originally intended to support tourism but is now being used for construction.
Mulgi municipality head Imre Jagomäe said the municipality had no right to appeal decisions made by a municipality in another country. He said there were also plans for wind farms at eight locations in his municipality, two in neighbouring Saarde municipality and one in Ipiku, and that the region had too many planned projects.
With the municipality’s support, the non-profit organisation Looduse ja Inimese Kaitseks is conducting nature studies covering birds, bats and ecological connectivity.