Lithuania preliminarily confirms seabed suitability for offshore wind farm construction

Initial surveys of the area that the Lithuanian Government designated for the country’s first offshore wind farm have shown that the seabed there is suitable for the development of this type of project.  

Geophysical and geotechnical investigations of the seabed are being carried out by Geobaltic and Garant Diving, operating under a joint contract, who delivered the initial results this month.

The companies surveyed an area of ​​almost 137.5 square kilometres using two scientific research vessels, Klaipėda University’s Mintis and Garant Diving’s Baltic Explorer.

The preliminary site investigation report provides information on the seabed surveys carried out, which consisted of surface hydrographic and shallow geophysical seabed surveys, and recommendations for deep and shallow boreholes and static probing locations. 

The seabed research at the designated offshore wind area will continue in order to provide the participants of the future tender with data about the structure of the seabed.

The 137.5-square-kilometre site in the Baltic Sea, which the Lithuanian Government identified two years ago, is located some 29 kilometres off the country’s coast, in water depth of around 35 metres.

The tender, which is expected to select the developer of the Baltic Sea wind power park, is planned to be announced in September of next year. It is planned that the wind power park located 30-40 kilometers from the coast will be able to create about 1,300 jobs, and could produce about 2.5-3 TWh of electricity per year, which would be almost a quarter of the current electricity demand of Lithuania. The 700 MW offshore wind farm project should be implemented in 2028. 

Last month, the Government deployed two EOLOS floating LiDARs at the site for a one-year campaign. The two buoys will measure wind, wave, and current properties as well as atmospheric pressure, air temperature, and relative humidity. The data collected is expected to be processed by the end of July 2023.

The auction for the developer of Lithuania’s first offshore wind farm is planned to be launched in the second half of 2023, with the project already decided to have an installed capacity of 700 MW and expected to be operational as early as 2028.

The the wind farm in the Baltic Sea of ​​Lithuania is considered one of the most important projects envisaged in its National Energy Independence Strategy and the National Energy Independence Strategy Implementation Measures Plan, the aim of which is to increase the production of local electricity from renewable energy sources and to strengthen the energy independence of the country, according to the country’s Ministry of Energy.

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