The Lithuanian state-controlled Ignitis Group has proposed postponing a 700-megawatt offshore wind farm project in the Baltic Sea worth around 3 billion euros, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Lithuania needs to increase its power generation capacity from stable renewable sources, and offshore wind is one of the most stable. However, it is important to choose a path for the further development of the offshore wind farm project that creates the greatest value while best serving the state's interests," Ignitis Group CEO Darius Maikstenas said.
Ignitis Group and its subsidiary Ignitis Renewables will ask the Lithuanian energy and finance ministries to delay the project by adjusting its implementation schedule while preserving the option to resume it when conditions change.
A construction permit is expected to be issued in the near future, while a recommendation by the National Audit Office to decide on the project's further implementation must be acted on by the end of the year, according to the company’s statement.
Ignitis Renewables said it was continuing preparatory work and making the necessary investments to secure a construction permit in 2027.
Key issues to be resolved include aligning the project schedule with the actual duration of offshore wind farm development, linking financial commitments to the start of construction, accelerating procedures for onshore infrastructure, and adapting design and work organisation rules for offshore wind projects.
A cost-benefit analysis prepared by Ignitis Group outlines three options: freezing the project, seeking partners in neighbouring countries and European funding, or proceeding with construction while increasing the final electricity tariff for consumers.
Last week, the Seimas Audit Committee decided to ask the government to coordinate the process and instruct the Energy Ministry to lead an assessment of the prospects for the first offshore wind farm project.
It also called on the Finance Ministry to immediately assess whether the letter of shareholder expectations submitted to Ignitis was in line with market conditions, electricity demand forecasts and return-on-investment requirements.
In late September, Deputy Energy Minister Ignas Junevičius said a commercial offshore wind farm could be built in Lithuania in the future if electrification progressed successfully, domestic industry expanded or large foreign energy consumers were attracted to the country.
In July, Energy Minister Lukas Savickas said there was no point in pursuing the development of the first offshore wind farm simply for the sake of completing the project. He pledged to make an immediate decision on its future.
Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius also stressed that Lithuania would not rush to decide how many offshore wind farms it needed and would not seek to implement state projects that were not economically justified.
In July, Lithuania’s former Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas said that the offshore wind farm project was currently unfeasible.
He said the two offshore wind projects in the Baltic Sea planned by the previous Conservatives-led government had been a mistake.
According to the National Audit Office, which audited the project last autumn, market changes since 2023 have increased its cost by 27 percent, while its projected returns have fallen by 40 percent.
The country’s energy and finance ministries are expected to make a final decision on the project's future by the end of this year.