During the first half of 2020, the wind farms and hydroelectric power plants operated by the companies of the Ignitis Group collectively produced 593.5 GWh of electricity, or 29.9 percent more than in the same period in 2019 (456.8 GWh).
“Just like the Lithuanian weather, the first half of this year was variable and unpredictable, but the results from most of our facilities using renewable energy sources were consistently good. Green production is growing, and Ignitis Group is continuing to actively implement projects in this area in order to achieve the goal of managing 4 GW of green power plants in 2030,” said Darius Maikštėnas, General Manager of the Ignitis Group.
The amount of electricity generated by the hydroelectric power plants operated by Ignitis gamyba increased, mainly due to the efficient use of the potential of Kruonis PSHP. In addition, the production of Kruonis PSHP almost doubled, which compensated for the slightly lower production of Kaunas HPP due to the lower flow of the Nemunas. In total, the Ignitis gamyba hydropower plants produced 464.8 GWh in the first half of 2020 (36.3% more compared to the corresponding period in 2019).
According to Ignitis renewables, due to the extremely windy weather at the beginning of the year, the wind parks operated in Lithuania and Estonia produced 128.6 GWh of electricity in 6 months, or 11.1 percent more compared to the same period last year (115.8 GWh).
During the first half of the year, the green production capacity of the Ignitis Group was supplemented by the Kaunas Cogeneration Power Plant (KCPP), which produced 5.1 GWh of electricity and 92.4 GWh of heat energy from January to June. At the end of June, a 1 MW solar power plant also started producing clean electricity near Elektrėnai, marking the beginning of the real operation of the world's first national remote solar power plant platform, Ignitis saulės parkai.
Green production is one of the highest priorities of the Ignitis Group in implementing its overall strategy. Currently, the Ignitis Group companies operate five functional wind farms: four in Lithuania (Eurakras, Vėjo vatas and two Vėjo gūsis parks – in Liepynė and Kreivėnai) and one in Estonia
(Tuuleenergia). The total capacity of the group’s functional farms is over 76 MW. The construction of the 94 MW Pomeranian wind farm belonging to the group in Poland is currently moving forward, and the company is also developing a wind farm project near Mažeikiai. Furthermore, Ignitis gamyba plans to increase the capacity of its solar power plant by another 3 MW this autumn.