The energy group AB “Ignitis grupė” announced the signing of a EUR 318 million ($336.5mn) project financing agreement for the development of the Kelmė wind farm, located in Lithuania. The loan was signed on October 22 between several subsidiaries of its renewable division, UAB “Ignitis renewables”, and a consortium consisting of the European Investment Bank (EIB), “Swedbank” AB, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB).
The financing is distributed among different entities within the group, notably UAB “Vėjas LT” and UAB “Windlit”, which will oversee the technical and operational development of the project. The loan, with a maturity of 15 years, follows a standard project financing structure, with no specific terms disclosed at this stage.
The largest wind farm in the Baltic states
With an installed capacity of 314 megawatts, the Kelmė wind farm is the largest operational wind project in the Baltic region. It will be built in two distinct phases and is expected to supply the annual electricity consumption of approximately 250,000 Lithuanian households, according to the operator’s data.
The total investment in the project, including land acquisition and construction costs, is estimated at EUR 550 million ($582mn). The secured financing therefore covers approximately 58% of the project’s total value.
Gradual deployment of production capacity
Ignitis Group is continuing to expand its footprint in renewable energy generation. In 2024, its so-called “green” capacity stood at 1.4 gigawatts (GW). The group aims to increase this figure to between 4 and 5 GW by 2030. Currently, operating assets amount to 2.1 GW.
The Kelmė project is part of this step-by-step strategy to scale non-carbon-based energy sources. The group has not specified whether Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) will be used to secure sales of the farm’s output, nor whether it plans to operate in the spot market or participate in national tenders.
