Lithuania could partially replace nuclear power with wind energy, both onshore and offshore, Lithuania Wind Power Association said.
In a non-binding referendum, over 60% of Lithuanian voters rejected the building of a nuclear reactor as a replacement for Ignalina atomic plant, which was closed under an agreement that followed accession to the European Union.
The plant provided 85% of the country’s electricity and shutting it down brought Lithuania to importing power, which is why the key priority of the outgoing government is energy independence.
Aleksandras Paulauskas, the wind association’s executive director , told Bloomberg: “The newly elected government will have to make a new energy strategy, where onshore and offshore wind power possibly could take the place of nuclear power.”
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Offshore WIND Staff, November 20, 2012; Image: Alpha Ventus