The main aim of the paper was to investigate the use of renewable energy sources (RES) in Latvia, for which – as well as for other European states – this is the issue of high importance. The renewable energy resources: wind, sun, hydro, biomass, biogas, etc., are additional sources of energy - the energy that could be produced independently of the import. Increasing demand for energy, limited reserves of fossil fuel, as well as environmental pollution and global climate changes observed in the world in the last years have given rise to an intense interest in renewable energy resources. Support to the use of RES has become a significant part of the European Union’s policy. In the paper only those renewable energy resources have been investigated from which a real contribution to the energy balance under Latvian conditions could be expected – i.e. biomass, hydro-energy, biogas, wind and solar energy. It is established that the renewable energy resources give the greatest yield in combined schemes in which fossil fuels are also involved. Such combinations allow for considerable decrease in emissions into the atmosphere; these are more environment-friendly, which means a higher environment protection level.