Offshore Wind Auction Results - Wind Turbines in Lithuania Produce Electricity With Over 1000 MW
Vilnius, Lithuania - In Lithuania, the expansion of onshore wind energy is progressing rapidly, and offshore wind energy will also be expanded by 2030. On 6 October 2023, electricity with a capacity of over 1000 MW (1013 MW) was fed into the grid in the Baltic country for the first time. This is a new all-time high. In the offshore wind energy sector, the winners of the first auction have been announced and the second auction is about to start.
An important building block for achieving the goals is the use of offshore wind energy. Today, the State Energy Regulatory Council (VERT), which organised the competition, announced that Ignitis Renewables, together with strategic partner "Ocean Wind", has been awarded the first offshore wind farm project in Lithuania.
It is estimated that a 700 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea could produce about 3 TWh (3 billion kWh) of green electricity per year, which would cover a quarter of Lithuania's current electricity demand.
The Lithuanian government's goal is to build two offshore wind farms with a capacity of 700 MW each by 2030. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy is already preparing for the second offshore wind auction: On Tuesday (10.10.2023), the responsible ministry together with offshore wind farm developers and those interested in the development of offshore wind farms organised a public consultation to discuss the preparations for the auction, the auction conditions and the planned date for awarding the contract.
The second tender for a wind farm of the same capacity with the possibility to apply for state support is expected to be announced in January 2024 - the European Commission (EC) approved €193 million in state support last week.
Source: IWR Online, Oct 10 2023