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EBRD backs largest onshore wind farm in the Baltic region

Author: Nigina Mirbabaeva

  • EBRD lends €79.5 million as part of a €318 million financing deal to Ignitis Group to support the largest onshore windfarm in Baltic region
  • 314 MW wind farm in Lithuania’s Kelme will generate power for up 250,000 Lithuanian households
  • Financing advances Lithuania’s energy security and climate goals

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is strengthening Lithuania’s energy security and green transition by lending €79.5 million to Ignitis Group (Ignitis), a Lithuanian integrated energy utility company active across the Baltic States and Poland.

The Bank’s loan, provided as part of a landmark €318 million financing package, which also includes the European Investment Bank (EIB), Swedbank, and Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), will enable Ignitis to finalise the implementation of its 314-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Kelmė, in western Lithuania.

The Kelmė wind farm is the largest onshore wind farm in the Baltic region, generating 740 GWh of zero-carbon electricity annually - enough to power 250,000 Lithuanian households. It advances Ignitis’s goal of achieving up to 5 gigawatts (GW) of installed green generation capacity by 2030, contributes to Lithuania’s national energy needs, and supports the European Union climate goals.

Ignitis is Lithuania’s largest electricity supplier and a pivotal energy player in the Baltic region. The EBRD is the company’s second largest shareholder following its initial public offering in 2020. The EBRD also supported the company’s investment programme for electricity distribution network in Lithuania as well as its electric mobility infrastructure across the Baltic region.

Since the start of its operations in Lithuania, the EBRD has invested more than €1.8 billion in the country across 143 projects, with a strong focus on sustainable infrastructure and the green transition.