Last year Latvia recorded its highest renewable energy consumption in ten years

According to the Central Statistical Bureau, in 2025 total consumption¹ of renewable energy resources² (renewables) in Latvia increased by 8.9 % or 7.4 petajoules (PJ) compared with the previous year, reaching 90.1 PJ, the highest level recorded over the past ten years (2016–2025). 

The National Energy and Climate Plan³ sets a target for renewables to reach 61.0 % of gross final energy consumption by 2030. In 2024, the share of renewables in gross final energy consumption was 45.5 %.

Key data on energy and climate neutrality are available in the Climate Change Dashboard, which provides a clear overview of greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, targets to be achieved and other areas affected by climate change. The indicators enable continuous assessment and monitoring of the current situation, helping to ensure that planned activities are being implemented and are delivering the intended results. 

In 2025, fuelwood continued to make up the largest share of total renewable energy consumption, at 77.1 % (1.5 percentage points lower than 78.6 % recorded in 2021). Electricity consumption totalled 16.6 % (up by 3.7 percentage points compared with 12.9 % in 2021), while the share of biogas fell from 3.5 % to 1.5 %. After declining in 2022–2023, the share of biofuels increased again, reaching 2.4 % in 2025 (0.2 percentage points below the 2021 level). Other renewables made up 2.4 % (the same share as in 2021).

74.8 % of electricity in Latvia was generated from renewables

In 2025, 6 410 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity were generated in Latvia (1.4 % more than in 2024), with 74.8 % or 4 796 GWh generated from renewables. Compared with 2024, electricity generation from renewables increased by 3.3 % or 153 GWh.

Over the past five years, the ways in which renewable electricity has been generated in Latvia have become more diverse, mainly due to the rapid expansion of solar power, with widespread installation of solar panels and development of solar parks. Electricity generation by solar microgenerators and power plants reached 994 GWh in 2025, the highest level in the past five years (7 GWh in 2021). Its share of total electricity generation from renewables increased from 0.2 % to 20.7 %.

Electricity generation by wind power plants also increased over the five-year period, from 141 GWh to 203 GWh, while its share in total electricity generation from renewables rose from 3.8 % to 4.2 %.

Hydropower plants generated the largest share of electricity from renewables, producing 2 957 GWh.  Compared with 2024, electricity generation by hydropower plants fell by 7.9 %, while their share in total electricity generation from renewables declined from 72.8 % in 2021 to 61.7 % in 2025.

In the transformation sector ⁴, biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants generated 481 GWh of electricity, representing 10.0 % of total electricity generated from renewables (5.3 % more than in 2024 but 15.6 % less than in 2021). Biogas CHP plants generated 137 GWh of electricity, or 2.9 % of total electricity generated from renewables (down by 16.5 % compared with 2024 and by 53.1 % compared with 2021).

 Importance of biomethane in the energy sector continues to grow

In 2025, biomethane production, exports and total consumption increased significantly in Latvia. Biomethane production reached 590.8 terajoules (TJ), 2.6 times the amount recorded in 2024, when 230.0 TJ were produced. Exports also rose sharply, from 51.0 TJ in 2024 to 168.9 TJ in 2025. At the same time, total biomethane consumption increased significantly, reaching 421.9 TJ in 2025, 2.4 times the amount recorded a year earlier, when consumption stood at 179.0 TJ.

Increase recorded in fuelwood production and exports

In 2025, 122.9 PJ of fuelwood were produced in Latvia (14.9 % more than in 2024 and 41.6 % more than in 2016). The increase was mainly driven by higher production of wood chips (up by 20.5 % compared with 2024, reaching 47.6 PJ) and wood pellets (up by 10.5 %, reaching 34.3 PJ).

Compared with 2024, fuelwood exports increased by 14.0 %, reaching 60.6 PJ. The growth was mainly driven by higher exports of wood chips (up by 46.9 %) and wood waste (up 2.2 times). Wood pellets made up the largest share of fuelwood exports (31.9 PJ or 52.6 % of the total), while wood chips were the second largest fuelwood export product (20.5 PJ or 33.8 %).

Transformation sector was the largest consumer of fuelwood. In 2025, its consumption stood at 24.2 PJ, making up 34.9 % of total fuelwood consumption. Households consumed 32.6 % of total fuelwood. In industry and construction, 94.9 % of fuelwood consumption was recorded in manufacture of wood and of products of wood. 

Transport sector recorded an increase in electricity and biofuel consumption

In the transport sector, total consumption of electricity, biodiesel and bioethanol reached 2 629.5 TJ in 2025 (3.5 % or 88.5 TJ more than in 2024). Electricity consumption in transport totalled 482 TJ (up by 9.5 % or 42 TJ). Driven by the growing number of electric vehicles, electricity consumption in road transport increased by 23.7 % or 47.1 TJ and reached 246.1 TJ. In rail transport, electricity consumption fell by 1.9 % or 4.5 TJ, while in pipeline transport it dropped by 16.6 % or 0.7 TJ, reaching 232.5 TJ and 3.3 TJ respectively.

Compared with 2024, bioethanol consumption increased by 4.4 % to 403 TJ, while biodiesel consumption rose by 1.7 % to 1 744.5 TJ. The sharp increase in biofuel consumption in 2024 was driven by the reinstated mandatory biofuel blending requirement for diesel and petrol, which also kept biofuel consumption at a high level in 2025.

In terms of the share of renewables in gross final energy consumption, Latvia ranked sixth among European Union (EU) countries in 2024, at 45.5 %, 1.8 times the EU average of 25.2 %.

By sector, the highest share of renewables in Latvia was recorded in heating, reaching 61.8 % in 2024, 2.3 times the EU average of 26.7 %. The share of electricity generated from renewables in final electricity consumption was 55.5 %, 8 percentage points above the EU average of 47.5 %. In transport, the share of renewables was 8.8 %, compared with the EU average of 11.2 %.

Explore more in the official statistics portal Energy section and renewable energy reference metadata section.

Methodological information

¹  Gross energy consumption includes consumption of energy resources in heat and electricity production (transformation sector) and final consumption which includes all sectors of national economy as well as households. Data on electricity generation cover boiler houses producing heat for sale, as well as all combined heat and power plants that started operation at least three months before the end of the reference period.

²  Renewable energy sources (renewables) – wind, sun, geothermal, wave, tidal, and water energy, and also aerothermal energy (thermal energy accumulated in the air), geothermal energy (thermal energy located under the surface of the mainland) and hydrothermal energy (thermal energy located in surface waters), waste landfill site and sewage treatment plant gas and biogas, and biomass. Renewables used in the transformation sector are local resources such as fuelwood, biogas, and other biomass.

³  Updated Latvia's National Energy and Climate Plan 2021–2030

⁴  The data on transformation sector cover energy resources consumed for production and sale of electricity and heat.

Media requests:
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More information on the data:
Lāsma Černovska
Environment Statistics Data Analysis and Dissemination Section
Email: Lasma.Cernovska@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366768