Wind energy grew in Lithuania last year despite untapped potential

The year 2025 was marked by strong growth in wind energy in Lithuania: over the course of the year, the amount of electricity generated by wind power plants increased at a double-digit rate and reached a new level. Although the sector’s development is still constrained by infrastructure and regulatory challenges, wind power generation results clearly signal untapped potential and the steadily growing importance of wind energy to the country’s national energy system.

According to preliminary data, Lithuania’s wind power plants generated around 3.84 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2025. This is almost 17% more than in 2024, when production amounted to about 3.29 TWh, and roughly 37% more than in 2023, when wind turbines produced around 2.4 TWh of electricity. This three-year trend points not to random fluctuations, but to solid, structural growth in the sector.

According to Edgaras Maladauskas, Deputy Director of the Lithuanian Wind Power Association (LVEA), the results for 2025 clearly demonstrate the potential of the wind energy sector, which is still not being fully exploited.

“Wind energy is growing even though the pace of decision-making and infrastructure development is not keeping up with market needs. This shows that the sector itself is mature and competitive, but clearer and faster decisions could enable an even greater breakthrough,” says E. Maladauskas.

According to him, the growing level of generation also reflects the increasing importance of wind energy. While just a few years ago wind power plants were often seen as a supplementary source of electricity, the situation has changed fundamentally in recent years. Increasingly, wind power plants are becoming one of the main pillars of electricity supply, especially during periods of stronger wind. This is changing not only production statistics, but also the logic of the entire power system.

Although electricity exports reached about 2.13 TWh in 2025, import volumes remained significantly higher at around 5.91 TWh. This indicates that even with rapidly growing domestic electricity generation, including the contribution from wind power, Lithuania’s electricity system remains dependent on imports, especially during periods when local generation declines or electricity consumption increases.

Last year’s statistics also reveal pronounced fluctuations in the ratio between national generation and imports over the course of the year. In certain months, domestic electricity generation accounted for as much as 95–99% of the total electricity balance, while the need for imports fell to a minimum. At the same time, there were periods when the share of imports rose to nearly half of electricity consumption. This shows that Lithuania already has the capacity to generate a large share of its electricity domestically, but the system remains sensitive to seasonality and uneven generation.

“Growing wind power generation in Lithuania increasingly leads to surplus electricity flows and expands export opportunities, but at the same time exposes the limits of the system. Grid capacity, connection possibilities, and balancing solutions are becoming key factors that will determine whether this growth can be fully utilized,” says E. Maladauskas.

In conclusion, he emphasizes that by consistently addressing grid and system integration issues, wind energy could become one of the main factors strengthening Lithuania’s energy security and contributing to more stable electricity prices in the future.