A recently published European Union report showed that the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are the least energy efficient EU member states in terms of renewables, while Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are among over 30% of the EU countries that have already met their 2020 renewable energy targets.
The EU has made it mandatory for all 28 member states to source 20% of their total energy outputs from renewables by 2020 – and 27% by 2030. Despite being largely reliant on their larger neighbour, Russia, for imported energy, intend to be self-reliant in terms of energy by 2025. In 2018, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia announced that within the next six years they would pivot away from the Soviet-era power grids that drive their current energy systems. Instead, the three countries will become synchronised with continental Europe’s energy system, using a number of high-power undersea cables between them and their EU neighbours.
Ambitious renewables targets for the future
In terms of renewables, Estonia ranks as one of the EU’s leaders in terms of introducing plug-in vehicles. Lithuania aims to have 200MW of photovoltaic capacity installed by 2020 which would make it the largest producer of solar energy in the region. Latvia, despite trailing its neighbours in terms of PV and wind power, is the Baltic States’ leader for hydropower. Poland, so far admittedly heavily reliant on coal for its energy generation, has also set itself ambitious renewables targets for the future.
Sun Investment Group, (SIG), is a Lithuanian-Polish investment firm with one the largest shares of the solar energy market in Poland and was also responsible for building the Gralewo installation western Poland. The SIG believes that this outstanding performance of the Baltic states in meeting their 2020 renewables targets can be explained by two factors: Their drive for self-determination in terms of energy and because they are seeking closer ties with the EU. (mfo)
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