RTU hackathon plans Saka parish's future, but locals and municipality left out
At an RTU hackathon, 10 student teams proposed development ideas for Saka parish funded by a planned wind farm, though most participants had never visited the area and the local community was not involved.
Riga Technical University (RTU) hosted a hackathon where 10 student teams competed for a combined prize fund of 6,000 euros, financed by the RTU Development Fund. Teams were tasked with proposing how Saka parish could spend revenue that the planned largest wind farm in Latvia, a 46-turbine project called K2 Ventum, would pay into the municipal budget over 25 years.
Student proposals varied widely: a sports park, a new residential village in Strante, greenhouse complexes for vegetable growing modeled on a "Kurzeme Netherlands" concept, cycling paths and renovation of old buildings, a Wind Academy, seaside recreation infrastructure, and data centers. One team that did not reach the final round proposed a "smart shrinkage" scenario, concluding that area development does not always require new construction.
Most students had never visited Saka
At the closing of the event, Saeima member Inga Bērziņa asked participants how many had actually visited Saka parish — only about five people raised their hands. Observers noted that nearly all informational materials used during the hackathon were tied to the K2 Ventum project, even though the project itself was not explicitly named in the official call for participation.
Saka parish is currently the site of active public debate over the planned wind farm, along with environmental impact assessments for three other wind park projects. Critics point out that the local community was not involved in framing the task, while students with little familiarity with the area developed proposals based on a narrow information base created by a single project developer.
Debate over public involvement
The hackathon featured differing views on public opposition to wind farms. Dagnija Blumberga, director of RTU's Institute of Environmental Protection and Heating Systems, argued that residents' concerns about health effects were unfounded and called for better ways to inform the public. Saeima member Jana Simanovska countered that dialogue with residents is necessary and that democratic processes take time. Jānis Irbe, a representative of the renewable energy sector, described public resistance as a "traveling circus," citing the Kaigu bog wind farm in Jelgava municipality as an example where residents reportedly take pride in the project.
Critics emphasize a distinction between informing the public to persuade them and genuinely involving them in decision-making, arguing that local residents' knowledge and experience should serve as a foundation for sound development decisions.
