Ignitis Renewables and Ocean Winds are provisional winners of Lithuanian offshore wind tender

Ignitis Renewables, a subsidiary of a renewables-focused integrated utility Ignitis Group, together with the strategic partner Ocean Winds (OW) submitted the highest development fee at the tender for the 700 MW Lithuanian offshore wind project and are expected to be announced as the provisional winners of the tender for the development of power plants in the maritime area. The bid price was EUR 20 million.

The tender organiser, Lithuanian National Energy Regulatory Council (NERC), introduced a real-time bidding concept, where the bidders competed by offering the highest development fee. Based on the tender procedures, the provisional winner is due to be confirmed by NERC, which oversees the process, no later than the next day after the real-time bidding process has closed. The provisional winner will be announced as the final winner of the tender by the organiser at the beginning of the third quarter of 2023, following the completion of the screening for compliance with national security interests.

“One of Lithuania's and, in turn, Ignitis Group’s most significant projects for achieving energy independence is offshore wind projects in the Baltic Sea. These projects will dramatically increase the amount of electricity produced from renewable resources, lowering Lithuania's reliance on electricity imports and guaranteeing affordable electricity for all residents and businesses”, said Darius Maikštėnas, CEO of Ignitis Group.

“Developing an offshore project portfolio in Lithuania and in the Baltics are cornerstones of our newly released updated Ignitis Group strategy, this potential award is the next big step in Ignitis Renewables delivering on the strategic goal of Ignitis Group to deliver 4–5 GW of installed renewables capacity by 2030”, said Thierry Aelens, CEO of Ignitis Renewables.

“We are proud to accompany our partner Ignitis Renewables in unlocking the offshore wind opportunities of the Lithuanian market”, said Bautista Rodriguez, CEO of Ocean Winds.

Following successful compliance with the national security interests screening procedure, Ignitis Renewables and OW will be required to set up a joint company, which will be awarded the development and operation permit that will grant the right to use the maritime area for 41 years.

The maritime area for the offshore wind farm development is located at approximately 30–36 kilometres from Lithuania’s Baltic Sea coast, covering an area of roughly 120 km2. Once operational until the year 2030, the 700 MW offshore wind farm is expected to generate up to 3 TWh of green electricity per year, which would meet up to a quarter of Lithuania’s current electricity demand.