Development of renewable energy has for some time been a central aim of Community energy policy, defined by Communication from the Commission “Energy for the future: Renewable sources of energy - White Paper for a Community strategy and action plan” (COM(97) 599, November 1997). Usage of renewable energy resources is one of the main aims of Lithuanian energy policy too. This aim is defined by the Law of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania and National Energy Strategy approved by the Decree No X-1046 of the Parliament of Lithuania on January, 18, 2007. The Strategy sets a target to increase the usage of renewable energy in the total usage balance of country’s energy not less than 20 % by 2025.

Renewable energy sources mean renewable non-fossil energy sources (wind, solar, geothermal, wave, tidal, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogases). Geothermal energy occurs and renews under the natural or human influence and can be used to produce energy.

There are only a few potential suppliers of renewable energy sources in Lithuania nowadays. When determining the amount of "green" energy to be purchased, it is necessary to take into account the following facts:

·        Limited availability of renewable sources of energy (demand can outstrip supply);

·        Different types of “green” energy;

·        Volatile market – subject to price fluctuations.

A demand analysis must be linked to an energy efficiency review so that any price premiums for “green” supply can be offset by cost savings on “brown” supply. For multi-site operations, quantity forecast data allows for better tendering information and keener pricing – suppliers favour customers who can accurately predict their consumption.

When purchasing the energy the negative impact on the environment should be assessed in every stage of production and use of fossil energy sources (natural gas, solid fuel, oil):

·        There are several potential impacts of extraction, such as oil spills, atmospheric emissions (gas leaks, etc);

·        Non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuel combustion cause important emissions into the air, such as dust, CO2, SO2, NOx, etc, which cause smog / ground-level ozone, acid rain, health impacts and global warming;

·        Coal mining results in the release of methane since it can cause water quality problems, where water is pumped from working mines or allowed to flow from abandoned mine;

·        Fossil fuel power plants use large quantities of water for cooling. Waste water discharges can have an impact on surface water habitats (e.g. through contamination such as suspended solids, temperature, etc).

All the above mentioned factors affect the nature – they increase the global warming, stimulate formation of acid rains, destroy biodiversity, and create the risk for human health. There are perceived risks of serious accidents at nuclear plants, and nuclear wastes are a serious environmental and health issue.

The sources of “green” energy will never end. This type of energy pollutes the environment very little or do not pollute at all. The huge hydro plants have negative impact on the environment (mostly they harm ecosystems of rivers). The use of biomass can negatively affect the environment as well (if the raw material is grown using chemicals, the forests are handled unsustainably, and the land plots for alimentary plants are reduced).

Taking into consideration the above mentioned aspects the contracting authority can determine obligatory requirement that a certain amount of energy is produced from renewable sources when preparing the technical specification of the energy public procurement. Such obligatory requirements can be combined with the economically most advantageous tender criteria. You can choose an additional amount of “green” energy as one of the criteria. Sustainable Procurement Campaign Procura+ suggests preferring energy produced not from the hydro plants; and to choose the economically most advantageous tender by giving additional points to the tenders, that intend to supply energy produced not from water.

In order to prove that the tender meets the requirements the contracting authority can ask to submit the certificate confirming the origin of energy produced from renewable sources. The certificates are issued according the Regulations on Provision of Origin Guarantees for Electricity Generated Using Renewable Energy Sources approved by Order No 4-346 of the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania (Valstybės žinios, 2005, No 122-4375) and according the provisions of Order No 4-4114 of the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania of 6 April 2006 which modified Order No 4-346 of the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania.

While purchasing “green” energy or technologies using the energy efficiently the public organizations ensure the representative role of this sector. This will promote production and use of “green” energy; will increase the efficient use of alternative, local and renewable energy sources; will reduce the amount of pollutants and gas that stimulate greenhouse effect.