He pointed out that from the point of view of the “Distribution Network”, the main tasks in the energy supply sector next year will also be the creation of a balanced national portfolio of energy resources, as well as the adjustment of production and consumption capacities.
“Here it is important to keep in mind that solar energy is seasonal and will not provide electricity throughout the year or at night, so the portfolio should also include space for the development of other, less fluctuating energy resources,” said Jansons.
Jansons predicted that the solar generation capacity in Latvia will continue to grow next year, including the capacity in the distribution system could reach 900 megawatts (MW) at the end of 2025. The forecast is expressed taking into account the applied projects and their development statuses.
“This is more than we need in the summer season to ensure consumption, at least looking at the current data,” said Jansons. He emphasized that this will mean low or even negative electricity prices in sunny weather, while the challenge will be where to put the surplus electricity produced by the sun.
In Janson’s opinion, with the development of solar generation, we have come “from one ditch to another”, or from zero point to a disproportionately rapid increase in capacity.
“Part of the developers of solar stations could point out that the planned business model will no longer be profitable, because who wants to sell electricity at a negative price,” said Jansons.
The chairman of the board of “Sadales nettas” welcomes the planned amendments to the Electricity Market Law, which are intended to determine that if the developer of the power plant has made a decision to abandon its construction and stop installing the connection, he will be able to request the paid systems until January 31, 2025 capacity reservation fee recovery. This will free up capacity for other, possibly other technology production developers.
Speaking about possible actions to increase electricity production capacity in the country, as well as the total consumption of electricity, Janson said that one of the answers is electrification, including the use of cheap solar energy in the heating sector. There is also a great potential for electrification in the transport sector – the number of registered electric cars in Latvia continues to grow, as well as the expanding charging network.
In addition, Jansons predicts that the use of electricity storage or accumulation solutions will also increase significantly in Latvia next year.
“In general, it is expected that the year 2025 will provide clearer answers to important questions about which we can only make predictions at the moment – we will see how many solar parks will be realized both at us and at JSC “Augstsprieguma tīkls”, how wind generation will develop, what will be the hybrid the development trend of power plants, how the electrification measures will go and how the network flexibility services will develop,” said Jansson.
Finally, he pointed out that in 2025 synchronization with the European electricity grid will also take place, which is a decisive event for the country’s energy independence.
It has already been reported that “Sadales tīkls” worked with a turnover of 343.332 million euros in 2023, which is 14% more than the year before, and the company also made a profit of 16.906 million euros, as opposed to losses a year earlier.
“Sadales tīkls” is an electricity network maintainer and developer in Latvia, part of the state-owned “Latvenergo” concern.