The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a EUR 100 million loan to support the upgrade and expansion of Lithuania’s Klaipėda State Seaport, including infrastructure that will support offshore wind development.
The financing will cover up to half of the EUR 201 million project, with the remaining funding coming from the European Union, national sources and other institutions. The port upgrade is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027.
The investment programme includes upgraded quays and maritime infrastructure for offshore wind development, and also covers shoreside electricity supply for ferries, green hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure, low-emission port vessels, as well as a new dual-use cruise ship terminal that will support NATO military mobility.
The EIB said the upgraded port infrastructure will help position Klaipėda as a logistics hub for the deployment and maintenance of offshore wind farms in the Baltic region.
Lithuania plans to develop two offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 1.4 GW. The first 700 MW project, now known as Curonian Nord, is being developed by Ignitis Renewables. The company, together with Ocean Winds, secured the development rights in Lithuania’s first offshore wind tender in 2023, before Ignitis acquired full ownership of the project.
Curonian Nord is planned approximately 37 kilometres off the Lithuanian coast and covers around 120 square kilometres. The project received a positive environmental impact assessment decision in July 2026, allowing it to proceed through the remaining permitting stages, with a construction permit anticipated in 2027.
Lithuania has yet to secure a developer for its second planned 700 MW offshore wind farm. The country’s second offshore wind tender was relaunched in June 2025 after its earlier version was discontinued, but the process ultimately failed after only one participant submitted an application. Under Lithuanian rules, at least two participants are required for a tender to be valid.
The government had previously amended the tender conditions to make the project more attractive to investors, including changes to price-indexation rules and requirements concerning the use of Lithuanian ports.
Klaipėda has been preparing its infrastructure for the offshore wind industry and already launched an upgrade in 2025, when the Klaipėda State Seaport Authority awarded a EUR 36.6 million contract for quay reconstruction at the former International Ferry Port to sret up a site for the assembly, handling, storage, and transportation of offshore wind turbines.