Power line protection zones not such a livewire issue

Rozītis admitted that the changes will have an impact on nature, but not an immediately major one. In addition, the very high priority – the provision of electricity – must be taken into account. "Because any nature and environmental expert understands that we are for a secure supply of electricity," he said.

The expert explained that the changes are related to adapting to the effects of climate change: "These issues need to be addressed, assuming that wind power will only increase under the influence of climate change. And such cases will definitely affect Latvia once every five years, and we will have to think about how we survive crises and how we solve them."

"Overall, this issue is about our energy security in the face of climate change, with huge increases in wind risk in the coming years."

At the same time, Rozītis did not rule out that new rules could be subject to abuse, saying "There will certainly be situations where landowners will use it to satisfy their interests where it is not so necessary. But I don't think it is that pronounced."

Also, after trees are cut down, invasive species, including giant hogweed, can increase. "It's an open landscape, and the plant communities are changing there. And hogweed is more likely to be present than if it were a forest."

On the night of August 23, Latvia was hit by the strongest summer storm since at least 1966, causing power cuts in many areas. As a result, additional emphasis has been placed upon ensuring future storms might not have such a drastic effect, with one measure being the felling of trees which threaten to bring down power lines.

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