Lithuania’s National Energy Regulatory Council (VERT) is due to declare state-owned renewable energy company Ignitis Renewables and its strategic partner, Spain-based Ocean Winds, as provisional winners of Lithuania’s first auction to develop an offshore wind farm, GlobeNewswire reports. The two companies bid EUR 20mn for the contract, under which they will obtain the right to develop a 700 MW wind farm off Lithuania’s Baltic Sea coast and usage rights to the 120 km2 maritime area for 41 years. BNS reported earlier that the second bidder was Polish energy group Orlen’s Lithuanian unit, Orlen Neptunas.
The winner of the auction is due to be officially announced in early September 2023, pending approval from a government commission vetting transactions by strategic companies, LRT reports. The wind farm is planned to become operational by 2030 and will generate up to 3 TWh of electricity per year, which would cover 25% of Lithuania’s current annual electricity consumption. Ignitis Renewables is part of Lithuania’s Ignitis Grupe, while Ocean Winds is a joint venture of Portugal’s EDP Renewables and France’s ENGIE.