The Government meeting approved the further development of offshore wind energy – amendments to the terms of the tender for the offshore wind farm.
The Ministry of Energy aims to ensure that the offshore wind farm provides the greatest possible benefit to consumers, does not negatively impact on wind farms being built on land, and is attractive to potential investors. It is also aimed at ensuring that the winner of the tender makes use of our country’s port infrastructure during the development of the power plants. In January of this year, the Government suspended the offshore wind farm tender announced in November 2024 and reviewed the terms of the tender and the related legal regulation.
Amendments to the Law on Renewable Energy Resources propose changing the procedure for indexing the transaction price won in the tender and establishing that the transaction price is indexed for 8 years from the date of confirmation of the winner of the tender, and not for 23 years, as was provided for in the previous tender terms. It is estimated that this will help reduce the need for support by about EUR 500 million.
It is also intended, after public consultations, to establish that the tender would be considered successful if two or more participants participate in it.
The amendments to the law aim to ensure that the development of offshore wind energy would bring benefits to consumers and have a positive impact on the final prices of electricity – an offshore wind farm could reduce the average price of electricity for consumers by about 3 EUR/MWh.
The amendments ensure that if consumers were to contribute, their contribution should not be greater than the benefits received from the offshore wind farm. Any financial contribution from consumers to the offshore wind farm would only be from the time the farm actually starts to carry out electricity generation activities – around 2033. In addition, it is proposed to provide for the possibility of directing the corporate tax paid by a potential developer to cover the need for services in the public interest.
The amendments unify the conditions for the transmission of electricity – the priority right for the transmission of electricity generated in an offshore wind farm over onshore wind and solar power plants is waived. This ensures balanced conditions for the development of offshore wind and onshore power plants.
The proposed amendments will be further discussed in the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
Preparatory works for offshore wind farm development and related infrastructure No. 03-004-P-0001
Funded by the European Union NextGenerationEU
