BIO-ECONOMY AND A SUSTAINABLE MARKET FOR BIOFUELS

To comply with the requirements of EU Directive 2009/28/EC for using renewable energy sources (RES) in Latvia, the agricultural industry has to become a significant supplier of resources to energy producers and consumers. Agricultural crops have always been used for the production of food, feed, fibre, and fuel. Already in 2003, the program "Biofuel Production and Use in Latvia (2003-2010)" was approved. The approval of the program laid the foundations for a biofuels market. Biofuel production satisfies the domestic market demand, as well as the excess is being exported. At the end of the program, the government stopped supporting the biofuels industry. First-generation biofuel production is not competitive without government support. First-generation biofuel production technology could not overcome the development of the valley of death. Only the creation of bio-economy-based technologies for biofuel production can ensure its competitiveness.