Current situation of the wind energy use and investigation of wind resources in the coastal region of the Baltic Sea in Lithuania

In this paper current situation and future prospects of the use of wind energy and wind power resource assessment experience in Lithuania are reviewed. Installed wind power capacity has increased from 6.4 to 54.84 MW in Lithuania in 2006. During last five years wind power resource assessment was carried out, wind measurements were generalized and on the basis of obtained results Lithuanian wind resources map was developed. Measurements have shown that the most suitable region for building WT of big capacity is the 10 km wide coastal strip in Lithuania. The suitability of several existing WT sites was evaluated by the power output coefficient, which describes the efficiency of installed WT. The aim of this work is to present the current situation of wind energy development and the results of the investigation of wind climate conditions in the coastal region of the Baltic Sea in Lithuania. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.