Lithuania and nuclear energy
Lithuania, a Baltic nation, is actively transitioning its energy sector as part of its commitment to the European Union, aiming to reduce fossil fuel reliance and increase renewable energy use. Historically, Lithuania was heavily dependent on nuclear energy, operating the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant until its closure in 2009. Since then, the country has faced challenges, including becoming a net importer of electricity and natural gas, primarily from Russia, which it has since sought to diversify away from, particularly following the geopolitical tensions stemming from the war in Ukraine.
As part of its energy strategy, Lithuania has initiated projects to enhance its energy infrastructure, including the planned construction of a new nuclear power station, Visaginas, and the Baltic Energy Market Interconnector, which will connect its energy grid with neighboring countries. The country has made significant strides in renewable energy, achieving 42.8% of its energy generation from wind power in 2022 and setting ambitious goals to generate 100% of its energy from renewables by 2030. These efforts reflect a broader commitment to energy independence and environmental sustainability as Lithuania navigates its post-Soviet energy landscape.
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Lithuania and nuclear energy
Official Name: Republic of Lithuania.
Summary: The Baltic nation of Lithuania’s current goal as a member of the European Union is to increase its use of renewables and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Since its Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant shot down in 2009, the state has become a net importer.
Lithuania was the largest state in Europe at the end of the fourteenth century. By 1800, it no longer existed, partitioned with Poland among its neighbors. A new, independent Lithuanian state emerged after World War I, but the Soviet Union annexed it in 1940. It was the first of the Soviet republics to declare independence, doing so in March 1990, even before the official dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Russian troops finally withdrew in 1993, after which Lithuania reorganized its economy along Western European lines. In 2023, with a population of 2.5 million and an area of 25,000 square miles, Lithuania became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the European Union (EU).
Lithuanian industry produces a range of products, from small appliances, furniture, and textiles to ships, refined petroleum products, computers, and other electronics. While important, at 30 percent of the economy in 2017, this sector is less than half the scope of the services sector, which accounted for about two-thirds of Lithuania’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017. Agriculture makes up about 3 percent.
Electricity Challenge
In the area of electricity consumption and production, Lithuania is still feeling the after effects of its 50 years as an annexed republic of the Soviet Union. The impacts are threefold. First, Lithuania is the site of two Russian nuclear power reactors at the Ignalina station, its only such reactors and both now permanently shut down. Second, its electricity transmission grid was heavily oriented to Russian priorities. Third, much as it has for decades, Lithuania bought nearly all its natural gas from Russia. However, Lithuania passed a law in June 2022 banning Russian natural gas after the country invaded Ukraine.
The government’s electricity energy policy is focused on strengthening infrastructure that will reduce its dependence on Russia and increase its ties to its Baltic neighbors—Estonia and Latvia—as well as Poland and western Europe in general. Among the ongoing initiatives are construction of a new nuclear power station, Visaginas, which was planned to start in 2015 but was indefinitely halted due to poor market conditions. Another initiative was the construction of the Baltic Energy Market Interconnector, a land and undersea electric transmission network that will link the country with Poland, Finland, and Sweden, and by extension to Germany; however, the deadline to begin construction was moved to February 2025. The country also planned technological upgrades to its Elektrenal power plant, in order to bring it up to EU environmental standards.
Dalia Grybauskaite, president of Lithuania, said upon her election in 2009 that she was committed to moving Lithuanian power off the Soviet-era grid and creating an open internal energy market in place of the national monopoly. She also planned to separate production and distribution oversight, at the time handled by the same government agency. Like other European nations, Lithuania’s industrial development plans were somewhat stalled by the world economic downturn. Still, Lithuania adopted an energy strategy to create 80 percent of its domestic energy needs by 2025. It also set a goal for renewable energy to reach 23 percent by 2020. However, the country had achieved this milestone in 2014. Also included were plans to reduce emissions and enhance energy efficiency across the industrial, residential, and transportation sectors.
Lithuanian electricity consumption in 2022 was 11.23 billion kilowatt-hours. Lithuania produces no natural gas but consumed 1.601 billion cubic meters in 2022. Similarly, the country produces very little oil, but consumed 68,000 barrels of refined petroleum products per day in 2022. The country also consumed 263,000 metric tons of coal during this year.
Renewables
In 2022, 42.8 percent of the country's energy was generated using wind power, 17.8 was generated using biomass, 6.6 percent came from hydroelectricity, and 4.7 percent was generated with solar power. In May 2023, the Lithuanian National Energy Regulatory Council began its construction of an offshore wind farm that was projected to produce one-fourth of the nation's electricity. In 2024, the country set a goal of generating 100 percent of its energy needs from renewables by 2030.
Bibliography
"Lithuania." The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, 30 July 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/lithuania/#energy. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.
"Lithuania, Energy." US International Trade Administration, 27 May 2024, www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/lithuania-energy. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.
“Nuclear Power in Lithuania.” World Nuclear Association, 28 Mar. 2024, world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-g-n/lithuania. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.