Lithuania, US sign memorandum on strengthening energy sector

VILNIUS – Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys has 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.

"It represents a shared commitment by both sides to continue to work closely together to achieve the same energy policy goals, with the historic and inevitable transformation of the energy sector being one of the most important of them. We have ambitious goals for the next three decades to become not only a fully energy-independent country independently producing energy we need from renewable energy sources, but also a country that exports its surplus energy to other countries in the region," Kreivys said in a statement.

In his words, the agreement, signed with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, "is not the beginning of cooperation with the US in the field of energy, but is the result of consistent and intensive cooperation that has been going on for several years now".

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.

The implementation of the goal set out in the memorandum will involve national energy laboratories under the US Department of Energy with the highest scientific achievements in the world.

The signed agreement is particularly important in the existing geopolitical context as Lithuania is dealing with the consequences of the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and is also fulfilling its climate change commitments and seeking greater energy independence.