Projects must be agreed with public, Lithuanian minister tells European Energy

VILNIUS - Every future investment project in Lithuania must be agreed with the local community, Economy and Innovation Ausrine Armonaite says.

"Every project has to be coordinated with the public, with the community, and that is what we talked about," Armonaite told BNS on Thursday after her meeting with executives of European Energy , a Danish renewable energy company. 

"I understand people's concerns, but I would just say that as far as new projects are concerned, the specific locations have not been decided yet, the process is still ongoing," the minister added. "This is a very serious company that is already operating in Lithuania, and it has wind farms, is expanding in Denmark and wants to expand in Lithuania, so we want to help them do that."

European Energy has recently announced plans to invest around 400 million euros in a methanol and green hydrogen plant in Lithuania, a move that has raised concerns among the local community in Kretinga where one of the potential sites for the new plant is located.

The TV3 news website reported that residents of Darbenai and other areas in the western district of Kretinga are worried about the possible negative consequences of the construction. They claim that the plant could pollute not only the air but also water bodies, pointing out that the potential location is unsuitable as it's too close to residential buildings. Also, the future plant could pose a risk to human health as even very small amounts of methanol dispersed could be fatal.

European Energy plans to select a site for its methanol and green hydrogen plant in 2025 and start operations in 2028. The company says it will be the most powerful plant of its kind in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries.