On Thursday, the Lithuanian parliament approved a 100-million-euro procurement of energy batteries.
Under the plan, four batteries with a capacity of 50 MW each will be installed in Lithuania over the period of 14 months, which will be used as the country’s primary electricity reserve. This function is now performed by power plants operating in the Moscow-controlled BRELL network that also includes Estonia, Latvia, and Belarus.
The Baltic states are due to switch to a European network by 2025.
“The alternative is the energy blackmail [from Russia] that our country has suffered from in the past,” said MP Vytautas Bakas.
The batteries will provide a reserve of electricity that will allow to balance wind power plants, allowing the county to expand its renewable energy sector, Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys told the parliament.
According to the minister, it is one of the most important projects for the country's energy independence.
The project will be funded by the EU and the system is expected to be installed in the first half of 2022.
EPSO-G, a state-owned group of energy transmission and exchange companies, reported last week that the batteries will be installed by a specially established company, Energy Cells. The works will be funded from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility programme.
Read more: Baltic states have an untapped green energy potential – opinion
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