Participation in the 9th Annual Energy Transition Conference 2025 in Finland
Under the project “Life-cycle of an offshore wind farm in the legal framework: the case of Latvia”, participation took place in the 9th annual Energy Transitions Conference 2025 “(Em)Powering the Future: Navigating the New Frontiers of Energy Law,” organized by the School of Law of the University of Eastern Finland on February 13-14, 2025, in Joensuu, Finland.
In the conference section “Regulatory frameworks shaping the energy future” the report entitled “From Fit for 55 to Local Impact: EIA’s Role in Shaping Offshore Wind Energy Development in Latvia” was delivered.
The report states that offshore wind is an important part of the energy transition and that environmental impact assessment is a key tool in Latvia for balancing development with the protection of marine ecosystems. At the same time, although the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) provides for renewables acceleration areas and shorter permit procedures, the provisions of this directive are not aimed at excluding public participation and access to justice.
The report also states that institutional capacity, transparency, and digitization of the permitting process are necessary prerequisites for successfully moving forward with the implementation of the ELWIND offshore wind farm planned in Latvia. Therefore, in order to ensure that local processes comply with the European Union’s climate and energy legislation package “Fit for 55”, clear legal powers must be established and best practices introduced, cumulative and cross-border impacts addressed, climate adaptation issues, and public participation strengthened.
The presentation of the report is available here.
Research team:
Leila Neimane, University of Latvia, Faculty of Law, Institute of Legal Science
The research is financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility project “Internal and External Consolidation of the University of Latvia” (No.5.2.1.1.i.0/2/24/I/CFLA/007).