Latvia's electricity output up over 17% in eight months
Latvia generated 17.1% more electricity in the first eight months of this year than a year earlier, driven mainly by a sharp rise in solar and wind output, according to grid operator AST. Electricity consumption in the country also grew by 9.3%.
Latvia produced 17.1% more electricity in January-August this year compared with the same period last year, according to data compiled by transmission system operator AST. The increase was driven mainly by solar power generation, which rose 2.6-fold to 1,366 gigawatt-hours (GWh).
Wind power output also grew sharply, reaching 213,855 megawatt-hours (MWh) — up 65.1% year-on-year. Natural gas-fired generation increased by 13.3% to 1,142 GWh.
By contrast, hydroelectric power plant (HES) output fell 17.1% over the eight months to 1,807 GWh. Declines were also recorded in biomass generation (-7.2%, to 172,848 MWh) and biogas generation (-21.6%, to 63,972 MWh).
Overall, 3,882 GWh of electricity was fed into the transmission network (+17.3%), while 926,681 MWh went into the distribution network (+16.2%). Latvia's electricity consumption over the eight months reached 5,107 GWh, up 9.3% year-on-year.
August output declined
In August, Latvia generated 368,098 MWh of electricity — down 15% from August last year and 13.5% lower than in July. Domestic production covered 61% of the country's total consumption in August, which rose 3.1% to 604 GWh (up 6.5% compared with the same period last year).
Output fell across all generation types in August. The sharpest drop was at hydro plants, down 33% to 80 GWh, followed by biomass plants, down 25% to 14 GWh. Wind and solar generation both declined 6%, to 34 GWh and 221 GWh respectively, while natural gas generation fell 5% to 5 GWh and biogas generation dropped 6% to 7 GWh.
Despite the monthly decline, solar plants accounted for nearly 60% of all electricity generated and fed into the grid in Latvia in August, with output more than double that of August 2025.
AST is Latvia's state-owned electricity transmission system operator, whose bonds are listed on the Nasdaq Riga debt securities list.
