Wind Parks Around Kuldīga: Balancing Energy Needs and the Landscape
Officials in Kuldīga municipality say some of the nearly 15 proposed wind parks are no longer active, while the remaining ones raise concerns about landscape and cultural space. They call for national spatial planning of energy projects and for siting parks on degraded land.
In the Kurzemnieks podcast, landscape architect Guntis Kalniņš and Kaspars Rasa, deputy head of the planning division at Kuldīga municipality's development department, discussed wind energy. Both accept that renewable energy is needed, but stress that tall turbines greatly alter the landscape and can affect cultural and historical heritage.
Active proposals
Environmental impact assessments have been filed for almost 15 projects in Kuldīga municipality, but in many of them nothing has happened for a long time, and in practice they are no longer alive. Only a few remain active. The furthest along is the Eko Ziemeļi wind park in Ēdole and Padure, which has been the subject of the sharpest public debate. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the environmental impact assessment, but the residents' association Mēs Ēdolei appealed it. The local plan has a first draft and its public consultation has ended; the municipality is consulting the ministry on how to proceed.
Other active proposals include the Kurzeme park, located mostly in Saldus municipality, the Vārme park, with turbines also in Kabile, and the Gudenieki park, whose environmental assessment is being prepared in Kuldīga and South Kurzeme municipalities.
Cultural space and landscape
Kalniņš notes that the visual impact of 270-metre turbines would be felt up to 30 kilometres away. The community wants to protect the Suiti cultural space and landscape features such as Gudenieki church. The Gudenieki park is planned with up to 45 turbines, while the cumulative effect, taking into account other nearby proposed turbines, is not being assessed.
Lack of spatial planning
Rasa believes the country still lacks spatial planning for energy, and that the process has become a matter of whoever arrives first. In his view, it would be better for the state to designate suitable areas and hold a competition for them. Both name degraded areas, bogs and exhausted extraction sites as the most suitable locations.
The Latvian Landscape Atlas points out scenic places but is not a binding document. The municipality can rely on the Old Town Law and the UNESCO-protected Suiti cultural space. Kalniņš points out that current rules assess environmental impact but do not include the social aspect.
