Solar provided 55% of Latvia’s electricity production in July

A wall of sunlight carried Latvia’s grid through July. Solar plants generated 235 GWh, making up 55% of the country’s total electricity production and keeping solar in first place for the third consecutive month, according to transmission system operator Augstsprieguma tīkls, or AST.

The result is striking because July brought fewer daylight hours. Solar output fell 14% from June, returning to a level comparable with May. Yet it was more than double the output recorded in July 2025, as the number and capacity of solar plants expanded. AST says Latvia’s installed solar capacity has now passed 1.8 GW, up from the more than 1.5 GW reported previously.

Solar’s lead came alongside hydropower, which supplied around 28% of July’s electricity production. Natural gas has also been overtaken: AST’s analysis says solar plants generated more electricity than gas plants for the first time. Across the first half of 2025, solar accounted for 23% of Latvia’s electricity consumption, compared with 9% across the whole of 2025.

So what changes in practice? Latvia still consumed 586 GWh in July, while domestic production covered 72.65% of demand and 159 GWh was imported from neighboring countries. But during daylight hours, the growing solar fleet helped the Baltic region periodically export electricity to Scandinavia and Poland; later in the day, the flow reversed. The system is producing more locally when the sun is available, without eliminating the need for imports outside those hours.

That timing also showed up in prices. AST says solar and wind generation helped keep Baltic electricity prices comparatively low during a month when heat and drought pushed prices high across many parts of Europe. Latvia’s average price fell 19% month on month to €74.95/MWh, while prices fell 19% in Lithuania and 32% in Estonia. The numbers point to a tangible benefit for the region, while leaving the daily gap between solar production and evening demand as a central constraint.