Community energy[edit | edit source]
Renewable energy in Lithuania constitutes some energy produced in the country. In 2016, it constituted 27.9% of the country's overall electricity generation. Previously, the Lithuanian government aimed to generate 23% of total power from renewable resources by 2020, the goal was achieved in 2014 (23.9%).
Climate action, environment quality, and recycling[edit | edit source]
Lithuania ( LIH-thew-AYN-ee-ə; Lithuanian: Lietuva [lʲiətʊˈvɐ]), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika [lʲiətʊˈvoːs rʲɛsˈpʊblʲɪkɐ]), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. It borders Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, with a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi), with a population of 2.86 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities are Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Lithuanians belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian, one of only a few living members of the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, which is also the most widely spoken language of the branch.
Sustainable transport[edit | edit source]
Transport in Lithuania relies mainly on road and rail networks.
total:21,238 kilometres (13,197 mi)
paved:14,879 km (9,245 mi)
unpaved:6,359 km (3,951 mi)
There are two categories of controlled-access highways in Lithuania: expressways (Lithuanian: greitkeliai) with maximum speed 120 km/h and motorways (Lithuanian: automagistralės) with maximum speed 130 km/h.
- A1 Kaunas – Klaipėda. Total length of the stretch: 195 km. The motorway ends for a short section near Sujainiai (Raseiniai district municipality) as the junction here is one-level and it is used by non-motorway vehicles.
- A2 Vilnius – Panevėžys. Total length of the stretch: 114 km.
- A5 Kaunas – Marijampolė. Total length of the stretch: 57 km.
- A1 Kaunas – Vilnius. There length of the stretch: 55 km (Kaunas – Vievis) and 16 km (Vievis – Grigiškės).
- A9 Radviliškis – Šiauliai. Total length of the stretch: 10 km.
The A roads (Lithuanian: magistraliniai keliai) total 1,748.84 km (1,086.68 mi).
- A1 Vilnius – Kaunas – Klaipėda, 311.40 km (193.49 mi). Most important east to west corridor in Lithuania. Connects three largest Lithuanian cities: Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda. Most of the road has motorway status.
- A2 Vilnius – Panevėžys, 135.92 km (84.46 mi). The stretch between Vilnius and Šilagalis has motorway status.
- A3 Vilnius – Medininkai Border Checkpoint, 33.99 km (21.12 mi). Continues to Belarus and connects Vilnius with the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
- A4 Vilnius – Raigardas Border Checkpoint, 134.46 km (83.55 mi). Continues to Grodno, Belarus.
- A5 Kaunas – border with Poland, 97.06 km (60.31 mi). The stretch from Kaunas to Marijampolė has motorway status. Continues towards Suwałki in Poland.
- A6 Kaunas – Daugavpils, 185.40 km (115.20 mi). Continues towards Daugavpils in Latvia.
- A7 Marijampolė – Kybartai Border Checkpoint, 42.21 km (26.23 mi). An important transit route to Kaliningrad Oblast.
- A8 Sitkūnai – Panevėžys, 87.86 km (54.59 mi).
- A9 Panevėžys – Šiauliai, 78.94 km (49.05 mi). Short 10 km expressway section.
- A10 Panevėžys – Bauska 66.10 km (41.07 mi). Continues to Bauska in Latvia. Important transit route to Riga.
- A11 Šiauliai – Palanga, 146.85 km (91.25 mi)
- A12 border with Latvia – Panemunė Border Checkpoint, 186.09 km (115.63 mi)
- A13 Klaipėda – Liepaja, 45.15 km (28.05 mi)
- A14 Vilnius – Utena, 95.60 km (59.40 mi)
- A15 Vilnius – Lida, 49.28 km (30.62 mi)
- A16 Vilnius – Marijampolė, 137.51 km (85.44 mi)
- A17 Panevėžys Bypass, 22.28 km (13.84 mi).
- A18 Šiauliai Bypass, 17.08 km (10.61 mi)
- A19 Vilnius Southern Bypass, 7.9 km (4.9 mi)
- A20 Ukmergė Northern Bypass, 7.7 km (4.8 mi)
- A21 Panemunė Eastern Bypass, 4 km (2.5 mi)
Before World War I, there were few isolated routes suitable for transit traffic e.g. present day A12 highway, connecting Riga with Kaliningrad, or present day A6 highway which was part of highway Warsaw–Saint Petersburg that ran through Kaunas. After Lithuania became an independent country in 1918, there was increased demand for new highways for inner needs. First long-distance highways built exclusively by the Lithuanian government were opened in the late 1930s. These are following:
- Samogitian highway – old highway built in the 1930s, connecting Kaunas and Klaipėda. Road section between Kaunas and Ariogala is now completely refurbished to motorway, and the road section from Ariogala to Klaipėda is serving as alternative road for a parallelly-built A1 motorway and connects local towns such as Ariogala, Raseiniai and Rietavas.
- Aukštaitian highway – old highway built in the 1930s. It connects Kaunas, Kėdainiai, Panevėžys and Biržai to Riga. After building an original route, new routes were built through the course of Soviet Union and after its dissolution. The road was gradually rerouted to avoid larger urban areas, and now runs from Sitkūnai, bypasses Kėdainiai, Panevėžys, Pasvalys, Biržai, and reaches Latvian border to Riga. Rerouted highway is now part of Via Baltica.
- Lithuanian Road Museum
There is a total of 1,998 route km of railways, of which:
- 1,807 km are broad gauge of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) – 122 km of which are electrified
- 169 km are narrow gauge of 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) – as of 2001
- 22 km are standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
- Latvia – yes
- Belarus – yes
- Russia (Kaliningrad) – yes
- Poland – yes – break-of-gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) / 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
There are 600 kilometres (370 mi) that are perennially navigable.
In 1992, there were 105 km (65 mi) of crude oil pipelines, and 760 km (470 mi) of natural gas pipelines.
- Port of Klaipėda
- Būtingė oil terminal
- Kaunas
- Rumšiškės
- Nida
- Juodkrantė
The merchant marine consists of 47 ships of 1,000 GT or over, together totaling 279,743 GT/304,156 tonnes deadweight (DWT).
Ships by type: Cargo 25, Combination bulk 8, Petroleum tanker 2, Railcar carrier 1, Refrigerated cargo 6, Roll on/roll off 2, Short-sea passenger 3.
Note: These totals include some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 13 (2002 est.)
In Lithuania, there are four international airports:
- Vilnius International Airport
- Kaunas Airport
- Palanga International Airport
- Šiauliai International Airport
- Paved Runways: 9 in total
- over 3,047 m: 2
- 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
- under 914 m: 3
- Unpaved runways: 63 in total
- 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
- 914 to 1,523 m: 5
- under 914 m: 55
- Lithuania portal
- Transport portal
- The public transport guide
Rivers[edit | edit source]
There are 29,000 rivers with a total length of 64,000 km in Lithuania, the Nemunas River basin occupying 74% of the territory of the country. Due to the construction of dams, approximately 70% of spawning sites of potential catadromous fish species have disappeared. In some cases, river and lake ecosystems continue to be impacted by anthropogenic eutrophication. W
Trees, woodland and forest[edit | edit source]
Forests cover 33% of the country's territory. W
Wetlands[edit | edit source]
Wetlands (raised bogs, fens, transitional mires, etc.) cover 7.9% of the country, with 70% of wetlands having been lost due to drainage and peat extraction between 1960 and 1980. Changes in wetland plant communities resulted in the replacement of moss and grass communities by trees and shrubs, and fens not directly affected by land reclamation have become drier as a result of a drop in the water table. W
About Lithuania[edit | edit source]
Lithuania ( LIH-thew-AYN-ee-ə; Lithuanian: Lietuva [lʲiətʊˈvɐ]), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika [lʲiətʊˈvoːs rʲɛsˈpʊblʲɪkɐ]), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. It borders Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, with a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi), with a population of 2.86 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities are Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Lithuanians belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian, one of only a few living members of the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, which is also the most widely spoken language of the branch.
