Promoting energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy sources in its portfolio, energy commodities trader and convenience store network AS “Virši-A” (hereinafter – Virši) plans to equip at least another 20 service stations, as well as the roof of its office in Aizkraukle with solar panels over the next five months. Thus, this summer, electricity from solar energy will be available to almost half of the 70 Virši service stations across Latvia.
Currently, solar panels have been installed at 13 Virši network service stations, providing 220 kW of power. The new solar panel systems, which will be installed at another 18 network service stations in the coming months, will be able to provide around 300 kW of power. Most of the existing plants have a microgeneration system so that the electricity generated can be used immediately to power the facility. In sunny weather, microgeneration systems can cover between 10-45% of a service station’s electricity consumption. This can represent up to 20% of total electricity consumption over the course of a year.
“In the midst of the energy crisis, energy independence and energy efficiency are at the forefront. Until now, we have had a long-term strategy and a clear plan for the implementation of solar energy solutions, however in the current circumstances we want to go even further and equip more sites with solar panels in the first half of this year, which is more than we achieved last year. This is an important step not only in strengthening our energy independence, but also in achieving climate neutrality goals by providing an increasing share of the electricity we consume from a sustainable energy source,” says Jānis Bethers, Head of Business Development at Virši.
Ventspils and Liepāja stations have been the sunniest
“Having service stations with solar panels in different regions also allows the Company to monitor electricity production data across the whole territory of Latvia. We have an unprecedented opportunity to monitor the weather, or more precisely the amount of sunlight, in different parts of Latvia, as all our solar panel systems are connected to the grid, and we can monitor the energy they produce online. Looking at last year’s results, the sunniest service stations in our network were in Ventspils and Liepāja, but even in cloudy and rainy weather, the solar panels can partially cover the electricity requirement for the instant powering of service stations,” says Jānis Bethers.
The first solar-panelled service station in the Virši network has been operating in Brocēni since November 2021, where a 50 kW solar power plant is installed on the three largest roofs. Solar panel systems are also installed at Virši service stations in Liepāja, Ventspils, Rīga, Daugavpils, Jelgava, Jaunolaine, Baloži, Rēzekne, Valka and Babīte.
