Final tests of the unit would be launched soon and would last until July, Lietuvos Energija CEO said in a press release.
“The unit has been connected to the switchyard successfully...,” Dalius Misiūnas said.
Some 400 million kWh of electricity, or 5 percent of Lithuania’s total electricity needs, would be generated during testing, he added.
The company set up a combined cycle unit service, which would take the unit over from Spain’s Iberdrola, the project’s general contractor, in summer. The unit is expected to launch normal operations in fall. It would replace the 3rd and the 4th units of Lietuvos Elektrinė (Lithuanian power Plant), which were built in the sixties.
The new unit would cost some 353.6 million euros.
The construction is being financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Lietuvos Energija itself, and a consortium of Swedbank, SEB Bankas, DnB Nord, Nordea Bank Lietuva and Danske under an 81.4-million-euro loan agreement with the five banks.
Lietuvos Elektrinė now has a total installed capacity of 1,800 MW.
