Lithuania's Second Offshore Wind Tender Fails Due to Lack of Interest

 

Amidst a general retrenchment in Western offshore wind development, Lithuania has announced the failure of its second offshore wind tender. 

The tender was launched in 2023, but it was paused for two years due to lack of interest. The Lithuanian government reactivated it in June 2025, received one bid from local utility Ignitis in October, and declared it failed for lack of market interest. National regulations required at least two bids for the lease to be issued. 

The lease site would have been Lithuania's second wind farm in the Baltic, and offered enough space for 700 MW of turbine capacity. Lithuania's regulators could re-initiate the tender at a future date if market winds changed. 

Lithuania's first offshore wind lease was another 700 MW-sized plot in the Baltic, and was won by a JV of Ocean Winds and Ignitis. Last week, Ignitis announced that it will be buying out Ocean Winds' 49 percent stake and will become the sole owner of the project, including all related intellectual property and R&D. Ignitis plans to keep moving forward with a goal to obtain a construction permit in 2027. However, it wants to find a new partner before taking a final investment decision and beginning construction. 

The buyout leaves Ignitis as the only active player in Lithuania's offshore wind market.  

Western offshore wind companies have been paring back their ambitions since the late pandemic inflation surge, and the trend is intensifying. The biggest player, Denmark's Orsted, recently announced plans to lay off 2,000 people and de-emphasize overseas markets. For global firms weighing investment options, Lithuania offers low wind subsidies and a worsening security climate: Russia is an increasingly hostile neighbor, and it has sophisticated capabilities for disrupting subsea infrastructure.