Lithuania: Overall summary
In Lithuania, electricity from renewable sources is mainly promoted through a sliding feed-in premium. RES plants with the installed capacity exceeding 10 kW acquire the guaranteed tariff rate through tenders. Under the sliding feed-in premium scheme only the already existing RES plants are supported. Support is not available for new RES installations and no tenders are currently being organised. However, a new support scheme for renewable energy technologies is planned to be introduced from 2019 - technology neutral tenders in combination with a fixed feed-in premium. First auction under the new scheme is expected in July 2019. Furthermore, the producers of renewable electricity may apply for subsidies and loans from the Environmental Project Management Agency (EPMA) under the Climate Change Special Programme and are exempt from excise duty. For solar, wind and biomass power installations, net-metering is in place.
Renewable energy sources for heating and cooling purposes are exempt from environmental pollution tax and are eligible for loans and subsidies from the EPMA under the Climate Change Special Programme. Moreover, heat suppliers are obliged to purchase all heat produced from renewable energy sources (priority purchase), unless renewable heat exceeds the heat demand of heat consumers. Finally, biogas that is injected into the natural gas system is eligible for feed-in tariffs set by the National Commission for Energy Control and Prices (NCC).
Transport sector is promoted through reimbursement of raw materials for biofuel production, obligation to sell petrol and diesel blended with biofuels (quota obligation), an excise tax relief and an exemption from the environmental pollution tax.
The operators of RES-E plants are entitled to priority connection to the electricity grid. The transmission and distribution of electricity from renewable energy sources shall also be given the priority. Heating devices using renewable energy sources are connected according to non-discriminatory principles.
Currently, there are only a few legal provisions on policies aiming at promoting the development, installation and use of RES installations.
Lithuania