Lithuanian Government Adopts Offshore Wind Rules

The government of Lithuania has approved the conclusion of the country’s Ministry of Energy which should allow for better conditions for the development of offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea.

The legislation sets out the proposals which are mainly related to the terms of the future tender and the limits of the responsibilities of the future developer.

The Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) is currently considering a package of draft laws proposing to regulate the support model for offshore wind energy and a model for connecting offshore wind farms to onshore electricity networks.

The Seimas had instructed the government to evaluate the provisions of the draft laws and present a conclusion. This conclusion has now been adopted by the government.

For a bill to be enacted into law in Lithuania, it must first be approved by the government and then adopted by the Seimas.

The law would also enable the development of a 700 MW offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea, for which plans have already been approved by the government.

“Exploiting the potential of the sea for renewable energy is a priority for both the European Union and our country. Lithuania is still an importer of electricity, so the 700 MW offshore wind power project will provide its own and green electricity, which will cover up to a quarter of the country’s total demand. Therefore, I am glad that the Government has approved the proposals of the Ministry of Energy and this project is becoming a reality,” said Daiva Garbaliauskaitė, Deputy Minister of Energy.

If the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) adopts the necessary amendments in time, the first tender could take place in 2023, Garbaliauskaitė added.

If the tender is held in 2023, the 700 MW wind farm could start producing electricity by 2030. With an annual output of around 3 TWh, the wind farm would cover up to a quarter of Lithuania’s electricity demand.

The government broadly supported all the proposals of the Ministry of Energy which provided for a broader responsibility for the future developer of the wind farm.

The developer would not only have to build the wind farm, but also take care of its connection infrastructure to the onshore networks owned by the transmission system operator.

In addition, in order to ensure the timely completion of the tender, responsibility for the preparatory work has been shared between the Ministry of Energy and the future developer of the offshore wind farm.

The criteria for determining the winner of the tender were also supplemented in two aspects: the faster construction of the power plant and the priority of submitting documents.