The windy weather in January increased wind power production

The first month of the year was characterized by windy weather in Lithuania, so the volume of electricity produced in the wind parks significantly increased. In January, compared to December of the previous year, the production grew by over a third.

According to the latest data from the Lithuanian Energy Exchange Baltpool, the wind parks operating in Lithuania in January produced 127.6 GWh of electricity. This is about 35 percent more than last month, when the amount of electricity produced was just over 94 GWh.

“The January weather was favourable for electricity production in the wind parks. By examining the production data, we can see that on windy days 20-30 percent of Lithuania’s electricity was produced in the wind parks. As a result, they made a notable contribution to the increase in the local electricity production by about one third in January, compared to December, while reducing the need for electricity imports from other countries,” said Aistis Radavičius, Executive Director of the Lithuanian Wind Power Association.

As was noted by A. Radavičius, the efficiency of the wind power plants is usually highest in the first and last quarters of the year, when stronger winds prevail. At the beginning and end of the year, turbines generate most of the electricity they produce. Conversely, in the spring and summer the winds are weaker, so there is less electricity produced in the wind turbines.

As of now, there are 23 wind parks operating in Lithuania with a combined capacity of 480 MW. Together with the small wind turbines the total installed capacity in the country is 539 MW. Last year, the country experienced volatile winds and the annual output of wind power in the power plants was slightly above 1.1 TWh. This generated about 10 percent of the country’s final electricity consumption.