Municipalities of Kurzeme have started more active discussions about introduction of electromobiles. Kuldīga and Liepāja are talking about purchase of such automobiles, for example, for needs of municipal police. Analysing current available co-funding from Climate change financial instrument program, the municipalities of Kurzeme have concluded that conditions are not beneficial; therefore new solutions are going to be temporarily searched for. Ventspils High technology Park has taken a role of mediator in negotiations with municipalities of Kurzeme and the Ministry of Environment.

The Ventspils High Technology Park tries to promote municipalities and enterprises of Kurzeme to establish infrastructure for electromobility. Cars and other vehicles operable by electricity as well as charging spots are self-evident issue in the Europe. Member of the Board of the Technology Park Salvis Roga is telling about available funding to this project.

Liepāja council even in December, last year, in Financial Committee considered the issue about possible participation in the program. Liepāja’s municipality conceptually supported an opinion that the city must think about installation of charging equipment but opportunities offered by the program were not beneficial for Liepāja and other municipalities of Kurzeme. Firstly, municipalities can not apply jointly but only separately thus competing to each other. Secondly, promised support will actually be smaller – Liepāja City Council Deputy Chairman Gunārs Ansiņš explains. Question is whether municipalities of Kurzeme will lose an opportunity by saying no? Representative of the Ventspils High Technology Park is optimistic. At the beginning investment is inevitable but these projects will bring yield in the future – says Roga. Technologies about both electric poles and reconstruction of automobiles are already developed in the Kurzeme Business Incubator and the Ventspils High Technology Park.

Liepāja City Council is ready to search resources to purchase environment-friendly automobiles, for example, for need of municipal police. Chairwoman of the Kuldīga Region Council Inga Bērziņa expressed opinion that technologies are developing very rapidly therefore we must be sure about economic effect resulted from introduction of such automobiles.

We have heard about Estonian success in introduction of electromobiles not only once, meanwhile Latvia is a beginner in this field. Automobiles operable with electricity are used by “Latvenergo”, reconstruction of cars has been made by “Trigers” Ltd., as well as other examples are known.

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Source:www.latvijasradio.lv