On April 19, the Conference “WindWorks. Moving Energy” was organized in Riga by the Latvian Wind Energy Association, Estonian Wind Power Association, Danish Embassy in Latvia and in partnership with the Latvian Investment and Development Agency, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Latvia and BalticWind EU. The event is the third edition of the wind energy conference that brings together experienced international energy experts, stakeholders, and policy makers to shape the future of wind energy in the Baltic states. 

Within the framework of the event the Liepaja SEZ CEO Uldis Hmielevskis and the Esbjerg Port COO Henrik Theilgaard signed a mutual Memorandum of Understanding. The Port of Esbjerg has experience in the development of offshore wind farms, while the Liepaja Special Economic Zone Authority is a leader in the Baltic Sea region agricultural bulk cargo logistics.

Both parties announced that they will intensify their future relationship by cooperating and sharing experience in the offshore wind industry and grain logistics. The Port of Esbjerg is open to sharing their best practices and experiences covering technical, financial, construction, installation and maintenance, legal, educational, and other issues related to the offshore wind industry, whereas the Liepaja Special Economic Zone Authority is interested in developing the Outer Harbor as a support center for offshore wind farms in the Eastern part of the Baltic Sea, and is ready to share its experience and best practices in the field of grain logistics and other bulk cargo handling.

The wind farm support base project, presented at the conference by the Liepaja SEZ CEO Uldis Hmieļevskis, was highly appreciated by Giles Dickson – CEO of the leading European wind industry association WindEurope: “The Port of Liepaja with its three separate gates combined with excellent infrastructure has a huge potential to develop the wind farm support base if compared to other Baltic Sea ports.”

The Liepaja Special Economic CEO Uldis Hmieļevskis noted, "At present, none of the ports on the Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea have the necessary infrastructure to serve offshore wind energy parks – the territory of at least 15-20 hectares and two berths of the length of 200m and high ground-bearing capacity each. The Port of Liepaja has been able to take the first steps to prepare the necessary infrastructure to further become a support base for the offshore wind energy sector in the Baltic Sea."

The Esbjerg Port Executive Director Henrik Theilgaard stated: “Establishment of a wind energy support base is a growing business. The windmill structures are also getting bigger, so there is a need for a place to store, for example, turbines weighing more than 1,000 tons before installation at sea. The height of the windmill towers is now about 100 m, and may reach even 200 m. Very long, so you need a lot of space to work with them. There is a place for it in Liepaja, and it looks promising."