2020 started with a new record in wind parks

The beginning of the year in Lithuania was characterized by extremely windy weather, so wind parks significantly increased the volume of electricity production. In January and February, the previously recorded monthly production records fell one after the other.

According to the data of the energy resources exchange Baltpool, in January wind parks operating in Lithuania produced about 187.3 GWh of electricity. This is almost 47 percent more than in the first month of 2019, when production reached 127.7 GWh. In February, compared to the previous period of the same year, production increased by 27 percent and reached 190.3 GWh. This is a new monthly record.

Thus, a total of 377.6 GWh of electricity was generated in the first two months of the year, which is more than a quarter of last year’s result.

The annual record was set last year

The wind parks operating in the country achieved extremely good results last year – the amount of electricity produced was the largest in the entire history of wind energy in the country. According to the transmission system operator Litgrid, they produced 1.453 TWh of electricity, which is almost 28 percent more than in 2018, when slightly more than 1.139 TWh of electricity was produced. The result surpassed the record achieved in 2017, when the production volumes amounted to over 1.3 TWh. 

“Last year was extremely successful for wind parks operating in Lithuania. As we predicted, the amount of electricity produced surpassed both 2018 and even 2017 results. The new record was significantly influenced by the extremely windy weather in the first and last quarters of the year, as well as by the steadily increasing technical reliability of wind turbines,” says Aistis Radavičius, Executive Director of the Lithuanian Wind Power Association.

According to the Statistics Lithuania, there are 1,322 million households in Lithuania and they consume almost 3 TWh of electricity per year. This means that wind parks generate about half of electricity consumed in Lithuanian households or meet the needs of 1.3 million people.

There are currently 23 wind parks in Lithuania, with a combined capacity of 480 MW. Together with small wind parks, the total installed capacity is 533 MW. Preliminary estimates from the association show that last year wind parks were able to generate about 13 percent of the country’s electricity needs. In comparison: all renewable sources combined generated 26 percent of electricity.