Lithuania’s state-owned Ignitis Group has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Ocean Winds for the acquisition of 49% shares in the company developing the Curonian Nord offshore wind project.

Upon closing the transaction, Ignitis Renewables will acquire 49% of the shares at a nominal price. Ignitis Renewables will also secure the project-related work, research data, and intellectual property by reimbursing Ocean Winds for its directly incurred project-related costs.

Ignitis Renewables will continue the work on the project independently and has all the necessary managerial and financial capacities to implement the preparatory work and the required investments to obtain a construction permit in 2027. Ignitis Renewables aims to select a new partner before the final investment decision.

Ocean Winds is concentrating its activities in other markets and will exit the project once the transaction is fully completed, which is expected to close within the next few days.

The 700MW wind farm, located some 37 km off Lithuania, could generate around 3TWh of green electricity per year, which would meet a quarter of the country’s current electricity demand.

It is the largest energy project in Lithuania, which will be the first country from the Baltic States to have an operating offshore wind farm. The project is expected to be in operation around the year 2030.

This comes only days after Lithuanian authorities stated that the second tender for the development of an offshore wind farm had failed due to only one participant registering before the deadline passed. This was the country’s second attempt to find a developer for this offshore wind farm.