EIB to finance Litpol Link Interconnector
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced plans to finance LitPol Link interconnector project in Lithuania.
The project consists of the Lithuanian part of the Lithuania-Poland asynchronous interconnector, known as LitPol Link, and the associated reinforcement of the Lithuanian electricity network.
LitPol Link (Lithuanian part) comprises the construction of a 500 MW back-to-back station at Alytus in south-western Lithuania and the erection of a double-circuit 400 kV overhead line (OHL) from Alytus to Elk in north-eastern Poland. The route length of the OHL is 163 km, of which 51 km will be erected in Lithuania from Alytus to the Polish border. The associated network reinforcement encompasses the construction of a 53 km-long, double-circuit 330 kV OHL connecting Alytus to Kruonis.
The total project investment is estimated at €132 million (US$170.2 million). The EIB is considering providing a loan of €65 million (US$83.8 million) for the project.
On 15 February 2013 Litgrid AB, the state owned Lithuanian transmission system operator, awarded the contract to supply a complete turnkey back-to-back converter station to ABB, a multinational corporation headquartered in Zurich.
Together with the NordBalt connection to Sweden, which is currently under construction by ABB, the project will improve the security of power supply in the whole area and contribute to the development of an integrated EU electricity market.
For the EIB this is a key operation to support Lithuania's energy strategy and to implement the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan (BEMIP). Connecting the three Baltic States to neighbouring EU countries and the internal market is the main priority of the BEMIP.
