Vidas Lekavicius

• Lithuanian Energy Institute

This study analyses the distributional impacts of investment subsidies paid to households that install residential energy technologies based on renewable energy sources. The subsidies, covering a significant part of the total investment, play a considerable role in households' energy decisions. Depending on their design, support measures may provid...

Energy security is one of the critical priorities of energy policy in the European Union and particularly in the Baltic region that is currently transforming itself from an isolated energy island to a highly interconnected area. In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of energy security in Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania in the context of t...

Carbon pricing is a policy with the potential to reduce CO2 emissions in the household sector and support the European Union in achieving its environmental targets by 2050. However, the policy faces acceptance problems from the majority of the public. In the framework of the project Role of technologies in an energy efficient economy–model-based an...

The development of domestic energy generation is often expected to provide benefits to the economy through, for example, improved energy trade balance and jobs created. However, the economic impacts of energy development scenarios are not limited to the energy sector, and the decision makers must consider the impacts on the entire economy. In this...

Demands on forest bioenergy feedstock are expected to increase in many countries due to climate change mitigation. However, sustainable use of forest biomass resources can be ensured only if local and landscape conditions are taken into account, linking energy use to its resource base. The aim of this study was to analyse the forest biomass potenti...

This research aims to assess the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the Lithuanian long-term renovation strategy, focusing on improvements in the energy performance of renovated multi-apartment buildings in the country. The methodology used in the study is centred on the CleanProd general equilibrium model, which is based on publicly avail...

European Union (EU) energy markets are changing rapidly. After the recent turmoil, a new wave of EU legislation is once again reshaping the way energy should be used in the EU, emphasizing not only the increasing importance of using renewable and local energy sources but also highlighting the importance of energy efficiency and decarbonization of h...

The life cycles of glass–glass (GG) and standard (STD) solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, consisting of stages from the production of feedstock to solar PV panel utilization, are compiled, assessed, and compared with the criteria representing energy, environment, and economy disciplines of sustainability and taking into account the climate conditions...

The concept of energy security is recognized as a complex and highly context-dependent phenomenon, necessitating the development of diverse indicators for its measurement. While numerous studies examined composite energy security indicators and frameworks from various angles, including inconsistencies, measurement challenges, and methodological lim...

Although the negative environmental impact of plastic carrier bags has long been known, their use in Europe continues undiminished. Lithuania stands out for its high use and production of plastic bags. Governments and sustainability-driven businesses are taking various measures to reduce the environmental impact. Such measures include strategies to...

In 2021 an acute energy crisis inflicted severe damage on the global economy, leading to escalated prices for electricity, gas, and fuel. In order to shield individuals and businesses from the mounting energy expenses, governments have been compelled to implement policy measures, including tax reductions, price restrictions or discounts, and subsid...

Food waste is a global multidimensional problem, with economic, social, and environmental dimensions linked to sustainable development. This study analyses the socio-economic and pollution effects of reducing food waste in the European Union. The food waste reduction scenarios analysed cover all segments of the supply chain from primary production...

The diversification of import plays a very important role in the current world full of risks and political perturbations. Covid-19 lockdowns and Russian - Ukrainian war cause disruptions in supply chains. Therefore, import diversification is very important for ensuring the country's supply security. There are many measures and tools developed for a...

Various methods and tools have been developed to quantify energy supply security; however, there is no ideal framework to measure energy security, as the concept is multifaceted and context dependent. Energy supply security has always been an extremely important issue for European Union (EU) countries due to high import dependency, and recent event...

With the publication of the European Green Deal, the European Union has committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The envisaged reductions of direct greenhouse gases emissions are seen as technically feasible, but if a wrong path is pursued, significant unintended impacts across borders, sectors, societies and ecosystems may follow. Without...

Heating and electricity account for one-quarter of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. Many countries still use natural gas and oil for central heating, but interest in district heating as a possible low-carbon alternative is growing. District heating is well-developed in some countries, such as Sweden, Denmark, Poland, and Lithuania. However,...

Households are responsible for almost 30% of final energy consumption in the EU. Therefore, sustainable energy consumption in households can provide a lot of benefits for energy savings, use of renewables and GHG emission reduction. Environmental awareness plays an important role in promoting sustainable energy consumption in households, fostering...

Although renewable energy adoption in the residential sector has increased significantly in the EU due to the governmental policies, aiming to reduce the barriers of renewable energy penetration, the full potential of renewable energy deployment in households is still not realized due to the behavioral and other barriers. One of the most important...

For the future energy markets, where the role of fossil fuels will be minimized and district heating systems will become more efficient through the use of waste streams, a new concept is proposed based on tri-generation of Fischer–Tropsch (FT) products, heat, and power. The challenge of combining the transport sector with a District Heating (DH) ne...

EU has set ambitious commitment to achieve low carbon energy and economy transition up to 2050. This low carbon transition means sustainable energy development path based on renewable energy sources and first of all should address the energy poverty vulnerability and justice issues. The main goal of the paper is to develop indicators framework for...

The deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) is an essential strategic objective of sustainable energy development in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Their growing contribution to the total primary energy supply can significantly facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. The paper provides findings from an in-depth comparative analysis...

This paper provides a systematic review and assessment of the existing (composite) indicators for measuring energy poverty (EP). A total of 71 (composite) indicators have been identified for evaluating EP. The systematic literature review integrates the Search, Appraisal, Synthesis and Analysis (SALSA) framework, Preferred Reporting Items for Syste...

There is a growing understanding that energy strategies must not only consider least-cost energy supply options, but also consider various side effects and different perspectives, such as security, customer empowerment, and the impacts on research and innovation systems. However, a framework is needed to prepare and develop a particular country’s e...

The improvement of energy efficiency is an essential strategic objective of sustainable energy sector development in the Baltic countries and can significantly facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. The paper provides findings from comparative analysis of energy intensity trends during the period 2000–2018 in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuan...

Climate change mitigation measures linked to households’ energy consumption have huge greenhouse gases (GHG) emission reduction potential and positive impact on energy poverty reduction. However, measures such as renovation of residential buildings or installation of micro generation technologies based on renewable energy sources have not realized...

This research is motivated by the absence of a recognition of distributional impacts in scenario analyses, particularly true of scenarios that use a techno-economic framing. It proposes a complimentary approach to highlighting the implications of different low carbon pathways for vulnerable regions, known as InVEST, or Indicators of Vulnerability i...

The paper provides a comparative analysis of economic growth in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and discusses differences in development of the main sectors during the period 2000–2016. Based on detailed analysis of energy sector development, the driving factors influencing changes in primary energy consumption in each country and in the Baltic regio...

In this paper, district heating scenarios towards carbon neutral district heat production in 2050 were formed for Helsinki region, Warsaw and Kaunas based on the plans and goals of the studied cities and the companies supplying district heat in these regions. It was found that increased use of biomass and waste as well as utilization of geothermal...

Renewable energy and local resources play increasingly important role in the contemporary energy system. However, many energy planning models fail to represent peculiarities and constraints related to the use of bioenergy and other local resources. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the impact of modelling methods used for the reflection o...

Rengiant Lietuvai reikšmingus energetikos sektoriaus perspektyvinės plėtros projektus ir strateginius dokumentus, labai svarbu įvairiapusiškai išnagrinėti energijos naudojimo ūkio šakose kaitos tendencijas, numatyti racionalius perspektyvinius energijos poreikius taikant modernius energetikos planavimo metodus ir matematinius modelius, pagrįsti rac...

The main purpose of this paper is to review the methodologies for quantitative evaluation of economic externalities (impacts on employment, current account balance, etc.) caused by the development of the energy sector and to reveal the possibilities to apply these evaluation methods in praxis. It is found that the most accurate results can be obtai...

The paper presents optimization of Solar Cooling System in Latvia using the modelling of solar cooling system which was created by dynamic simulation program. The model is similar to the existing real solar cooling system in the Institute of Physical Energetics. The precision of the model was tested by comparing it with real equipment. Simulations...

Increase of energy efficiency remains as one of the major strategic objectives in Lithuania. Effective use of existing energy saving potential increases energy security, reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. In order to meet the growing energy demand and to reduce the negative environmental impact of the energy sector, consist...

As known, many multi-purpose plants can be used in different industries. This research is focused on the possibilities to utilize hemp as feedstock for thermal insulation products. The most advantageous features of hemp insulation are associated with health and environmental safety. The thermal conductivity of commercially available hemp insulation...

Global economic development and continuous growth of the world population are the major factors which cause growth of energy consumption and increasing volumes of greenhouse gas emissions. Attempts to achieve sustainable energy development are still not enough successful. Scientific community and international organizations are concerned with conse...

Analysis of the Lithuanian energy sector development over medium and long-term period and preparation of strategic documents is a complex problem. Comprehensive analysis of energy consumption trends and application of appropriate energy planning tools is required. Forecast of final energy demand should be prepared taking into consideration that fav...

One of the most important strategic goals in Lithuania is implementation of sustainable development provisions. Taking into consideration closure of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant implementation of this aim de¬pends very much on development of the Lithuanian energy sector. This paper presents some findings from the analysis of the Lithuanian energy p...

The developed electricity market price forecasting model is presented in this paper. The following structural parts of the model are segregated and shortly described – determination of the aim of market price forecasting, analysis of features of electricity market price, identification of factors forming electricity market price and influencing on...