Last week, Lithuania, US signed memorandum on strengthening energy sector, Kaunas mayor’s family decided to sell Hilton Hotel project in Vilnius.
Lithuania’s space sector could generate 1 percent of GDP by 2027
Lithuania harbours ambitions to have its space sector generating approximately 1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in five years’ time, Lithuanian Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė said on Monday, 11 July. According to her, Lithuania joined the European Space Agency within mere two months, which proved that the country was serious in its intentions. A total of 80 candidates from Lithuania, including 62 men and 18 women, submitted applications in the European Space Agency’s latest astronaut selection, which drew 22 000 applications from across the world. The Lithuanian space technology cluster was established in Vilnius last November, with its members already involved in joint projects and missions with NASA, the European Space Agency, Airbus Defence & Space, Thales Alenia Space, British Telecom and others.
Lithuania, US sign memorandum on strengthening energy sector
On Monday, 11 July, the Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys signed an agreement between the US Department of Energy and the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy as Lithuania aims to achieve energy security and make its energy sector climate-neutral. According to the Energy Ministry, it’s the first memorandum of this kind, signed between the American and Lithuanian institutions in charge of the energy policy. The memorandum defines specific areas of cooperation, related to the strengthening of Lithuania’s energy sector in the area of cyber security, as well as Lithuania’s goal of transitioning its energy sector to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. The memorandum will also address climate change-related challenges and will aim to make the energy sector better prepared for climate change-related threats through the implementation of the measures set out in the memorandum.
Harmony Link construction may be delayed by 2 or 3 years
The ongoing war in Ukraine has led to a sharp increase in the demand for renewable energy sources across Europe and that could delay by several years the construction of the Harmony Link submarine cable in the Baltic Sea, the most expensive project that’s part of the Baltic states’ bid to synchronize their power system with that of western Europe, Rokas Masilis, CEO of Lithuania’s TSO, Litgrid, warned on Tuesday, 12 July, saying that the cable could be built between 2027 and 2028.
Kaunas mayor’s family selling Hilton Hotel project in Vilnius
Rinktinės Investicijos, a company owned by Visvaldas Matijošaitis, the major of Kaunas and co-owner of leading Lithuanian food group Vičiūnai, has decided to sell the Hilton Hotel construction project that was launched in the centre of Vilnius but was later suspended. The construction of Double Tree by Hilton hotel in the Lithuanian capital was launched in 2019 and was initially scheduled for completion in 2020 but later the deadline was postponed until 2021. In 2020, the project of the four-star hotel with 176 rooms was frozen due to the pandemic. Earlier reports said that investment in the project would amount to some 30 million euros
Ignitis Group to invest 200 million euros into Jonava solar park
Ignitis Renewables, a subsidiary of Ignitis Grupė (Ignitis Group), Lithuania’s state-owned energy group, plans to invest up to 200 million euros into a 252 MW solar park in the country’s central Jonava District, making it the group’s largest greenfield investment so far. Ignitis Renewables secured grid connection capacity under a letter of intent signed with the country’s power transmission system operator Litgrid on Wednesday, 13 July. The projects’ final investment decision will be made at a later stage of the project’s development, the group announced via the Nasdaq Vilnius Stock Exchange. The solar park is planned to be constructed and start generating electricity by 2025. With the development of new projects, Ignitis Renewables is implementing the groups’ strategic goal of reaching 4 GW installed green generation capacity by 2030. The group’s total onshore wind and solar greenfield project portfolio now stands at around 650 MW.
New Brussels’ guidelines on transit expected to bring in clarity
The European Commission’s guidelines allowing transit of sanctioned goods to and from Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad will bring in clarity in the implementation of sanctions against Russia and fend off Kremlin disinformation, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Thursday, 14 July. The European Commission on Wednesday, 13 July, issued new guidelines, allowing Russia to transport sanctioned goods by rail to and from Kaliningrad via the EU territory, but only for the needs of this exclave. The transit of some Russian goods to Kaliningrad was halted after the EU sanctions, imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, came into force. Given the current geopolitical context, it was necessary to concentrate on making sure that the EU continued to pursue consistent policy of tightening sanctions on Russia, Nausėda noted.
Lithuania’s classifieds portal hit by cyber-attack
Thousands of customers’ data might have been leaked as a result of a cyber-attack against alio.lt, the Lithuanian online classifieds site reported on Thursday, 14 July, adding that the attack had been stopped. Kristijonas Šiaulys, IT manager of the portal, said that hackers tried to extract data of 345 000 users from the database of the portal during the attack by trying to guess users’ ID and phone numbers. The portal stressed it did not store particularly sensitive information, such as bank account and payment card data, personal ID codes, and home addresses, in its database.
Lithuania refuses entry to 11 more trucks from Kaliningrad
Eleven more trucks with sanctioned goods have not been allowed to enter Lithuania from the Russian region of Kaliningrad and from Belarus over Thursday, 14 July, the Customs Department said on Friday, 16 July. All three trucks were turned around following checks, it said. After a new ban on the transit of Russian goods to Kaliningrad came into force last weekend, 34 trucks were prevented from crossing the Lithuanian border on Monday, 11 July, 26 on Tuesday, 12 July, and three on Wednesday, 13 July. Under the European Commission’s clarification, sanctioned Russian goods can only be transported via Lithuania to the Russian exclave by rail and only for the region’s needs.
Lithuania reports 796 new Covid-19 cases, no deaths
Lithuania recorded 796 new coronavirus infections and no new deaths from COVID-19 over Thursday, 14 July, official statistics showed on Friday, 15 July. Some 631 of the new cases were primary, 160 were secondary, and five were tertiary. The number of hospital patients now stands at 93, including five ICU cases. The 14-day primary infection rate has edged up to 250 cases per 100 000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 43.5 percent. More than 1 million people in Lithuania have tested positive with Covid-19 at least once. Some 69.9 percent of the Lithuanian population have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far.
Border guards turn 35 irregular migrants away on border with Belarus
Lithuanian border guards turned away 44 migrants over Thursday, 14 July, attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service said on Friday, 15 July. Lithuanian border guards have sent almost 10 600 people back to Belarus since last August, when they were given the right to deny entry to irregular migrants. Almost 4 200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally last year.
Week in Lithuania: 796 new Covid-19 cases reported on Friday, Ignitis Group says it will invest 200 million euros into Jonava solar park
