EU funding to be sought for offshore power link to Germany - Lithuanian minister

VILNIUS - EU funding will be sought for a planned high-capacity hybrid offshore power link between Germany and either Lithuania or Latvia, Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said on Thursday.

"This interconnection should appear on the European infrastructure map," Vaiciunas told the Ziniu Radijas radio station. "Of course, this involves a lot of work - planning, assessing the project's social and economic benefits, and calculating its costs."

"But to even get started, the project must be included in the ten-year plan of ENTSO-E, the network of transmission system operators from across the EU," he said.

Vaiciunas stressed that the project should not be funded at the expense of electricity consumers.

"European instruments must be sought for this," he said.

The minister called for depoliticizing the issue of whether the cable should connect Germany to Lithuania or Latvia.

"We're simply taking a rational approach - both countries need to assess their territories and weigh the pros and cons. The decision should be based on reason. We really need to depoliticize the issue and look at what is the most advantageous solution for the region," Vaiciunas said.

"The specific point where the link will be built - whether in Lithuania or Latvia - should become clear in about a year," he added.

Vaiciunas emphasized that the project represents an opportunity for the renewable energy market.

BNS has reported that the Lithuanian, Latvian and German energy ministers agreed on the concept for the Baltic Sea interconnection project in early April.

During their meeting in Copenhagen, the ministers also agreed that the three countries' transmission system operators - Litgrid, Augstsprieguma Tikls, and 50Hertz - would jointly submit an application in May to include the project in the European 2026 Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP).

The project could be completed by 2035-2037.

The Lithuanian Energy Ministry has said the link would increase the reliability of electricity supply in Lithuania, Latvia and Germany, and open up opportunities for the Baltic countries to develop offshore and onshore solar and wind energy projects.

An interconnector with Germany is a priority in the current government's program.

In addition to the LitPol Link onshore electricity link between Lithuania and Poland, used for February's synchronization with the Continental European system, the Baltic countries are connected to Northern Europe through the NordBalt sea link between Lithuania and Sweden, and the EstLink 1 and EstLink 2 submarine power cables between Estonia and Finland.

Plans also call for building another onshore cable between Lithuania and Poland, the Harmony Link, by 2030. It will be used for electricity trade.