“Offshore wind farm development is gaining momentum and we are laying the foundations for a second offshore wind farm tender. We aim for two wind farms to provide up to half of Lithuania’s current electricity demand, which would be a significant increase in national electricity generation”, said Daiva Garbaliauskaitė, Vice-Minister of Energy.
The Ministry of Energy is planning two 1.4 GW offshore wind farms in Lithuania’s Baltic Sea near Palanga. These farms could generate around 6 TWh of green electricity per year - around half of Lithuania’s current electricity demand. At least 3% of the farm’s construction work will have to be carried out by small and medium-sized enterprises.
The successful tenderer will be required to contribute at least EUR 5 million for environmental protection in the Lithuanian maritime area. Once the offshore wind farm is built, the developer will be obliged to make an annual contribution (EUR 1 per 1 MWh of electricity generated) to the municipal communities close to the farm. Preliminary estimates suggest that this could amount to around EUR 3 million per year.
The area of the Baltic Sea for the second 700 MW offshore wind farm is approximately 136.39 km2. The farm will be about 30 kilometres from the coast.
In line with European practice, the Ministry of Energy is organising preparatory work for the development of an offshore wind farm, as it is a strategically important energy project for the Republic of Lithuania: the engineering infrastructure development plan for the offshore area has already been prepared, the development plan for the connection of the wind farms to the onshore grid is being prepared, the environmental impact assessment of the offshore wind farms is being finalised, the offshore area for the development of the wind farm has been subjected to bottom geophysical and geotechnical surveys, and the wind speeds and other hydrometeorological parameters have been measured. The preparatory work carried out is expected to ensure competitive offers in the tender.
