Lithuania lost much time on first offshore wind project, minister says

Lithuania has squandered valuable time in its pursuit of an offshore wind farm, Energy Minister Lukas Savickas stated in an interview with "Verslo žinios." He acknowledged that while evaluation work has concluded recently, his team is now reviewing the material and will make swift decisions.

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We must admit that a lot of time has been lost.

"We must admit that a lot of time has been lost," Savickas said. He highlighted that Lithuania, once a leader in energy transformation, has fallen behind in offshore wind energy. He pointed to a series of delayed tenders and shifting priorities as reasons for the lag, noting that neighboring Poland has already connected test wind farms.

Savickas emphasized that implementing the wind farm solely for the sake of completion would be irresponsible. He stressed that the project must align with the government's vision and program goals. Specifically, the wind farm must contribute to lower electricity prices, be economically viable, and not harm Lithuania's energy system.

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We have to very clearly understand that this park can certainly contribute to the implementation of my vision, to the principal goals set out in the Government program, which are programmed there. However, this is with certain conditions.

The minister also noted that the project's conditions have evolved since its inception. "Ignitis grupės" company "Ignitis Renewables," along with partner "OW Offshore," won the state tender in October 2023 to build and operate the wind farm by 2030. However, a State Audit Office report revealed that market changes reduced "Ignitis grupės'" projected return on investment by approximately 40% and increased the project cost by 27%, from 2.2 to 2.8 billion euros. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius previously indicated that the new coalition government would revisit the offshore wind farm issue, expressing optimism if economic assessments justify the project's value. Lithuania plans to have two offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 1.4 gigawatts.

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First of all, we must (see – ELTA) that this implemented project contributes to lower electricity prices. Also, as a project, it must be economically viable and, of course, not harm Lithuania's energy system. These are the principal conditions through which I plan to look at this project.