Peer review visit Kaigu, Latvia

In order to analyze the potential criteria for a united green industrial zone certificate, the GreenIndustrialAreas (GIA) project has started peer visits to pilot territories. The first visit was made in to Zemgale Planning Regiona (Latvia), to the Kaigu peat bog, as well as the project was presented in Liepāja, where participants were introduced with the development plans of this city.

An ambitious development project has been launched at the Zemgale peat processing company "Laflora", which envisages the construction of a wind park with the potential to create a green industrial zone around it. The Zemgale Planning Region, as a partner in the GIA project, is implementing a multi-stage program that envisages the development of a green certificate standard. Kaigu bog with its development plans is one of the 6 pilot territories where testing measures have been implemented. In this phase, project partners and engaged experts visit these pilot territories to assess progress, as well as learn about each country's approach leaning to introduce green industrial zones.

The visit to the Kaigu bog took place at a historic moment, just a week before the start of active construction. The chairman of the board of the company, Uldis Ameriks, outlined the trends in peat processing, the future vision of the company, as well as the industrial zone. It is planned that in 2026, the first "Laflora" wind turbines and solar park will be installed in the Jelgava region. In the next stages of development, both greenhouses and data centers and, in general, a smart and green area will be built here. One of the reasons for such a development step is that peat extraction in the Kaigu bog will end in the next few years, so it is important to plan further economic use of the territory, which will allow the company to achieve climate neutrality at the same time.

Also, during the visit, the guests went to:

• "AJ Power" solar panel park in Dobele county;
• Liepāja municipality, where they got acquainted with the city's vision and future plans for the possibility of developing green industrial zones;
• food protein production facility "Golden Fields Factory”;
• Liepāja port and Liepāja special economic zone;
• ▪️company "DG Terminals"