Romania’s hidroelectrica to get concession for Europe’s biggest solar power project – Report

According to reports, government-controlled Hidroelectrica is the most likely candidate for taking over a solar power project of up to 1.5 GW on Romanian state land. The utility is also preparing to build a 300 MW photovoltaic plant with an electrolyzer of 100 MW. Renewable energy projects keep piling up in the country.

In addition to reviving numerous dormant hydropower projects in Romania, Hidroelectrica is working on the diversification of its electricity sources. Late last year, the country declared ten investments of the country’s biggest power producer to be in the national interest, which opened the way to an acceleration in permitting, Ziarul Financiar reported.

The news outlet added that one of the proposed endeavours is the installation of Europe’s biggest solar park, with up to 1.5 GW in capacity, though the government-controlled utility wouldn’t confirm it. State Property Agency, which is authorized to approve a concession, acknowledged the plan for the photovoltaic facility in December. The investment is estimated at over EUR 1.2 billion, the article reads.

The site is between Piscul Sadovei and Dăbuleni in the Dolj county in Oltenia, Romania’s main coal hub. It spans 3,000 hectares of grade five, unproductive agricultural land. According to ADS, there is a possibility of using the area for electricity production and agricultural activities at the same time.

Romania is under pressure to meet the deadlines for European grants and cheap loans for energy projects, as they must be completed by 2026. Declaring national interest is also in the context of efforts to pursue energy independence, especially from Russian fossil fuels.

Hidroelectrica, Romania’s biggest power producer, is preparing for an initial public offering at the Bucharest Stock Exchange. It launched a project last year for a 300 MW solar power plant with an electrolyzer of 100 MW for the production of green hydrogen. The location is in the central part of the country, at the Olt river.

It was supposed to become a reservoir for a hydropower and irrigation project approved more than three decades ago, but it was scrapped in 2019. Hidroelectrica is currently looking for a contractor for a feasibility study for the Mândra solar power and green hydrogen project.

The company said it may link the electrolyzer to its nearby Voila hydropower plant as a supply backup.

Hidroelectrica is also looking to invest in offshore wind. It already owns Crucea, one of the country’s largest wind parks. The facility is near Constanța in Dobrogea (Dobruja). Hidroelectrica gave up in 2021 on the intended purchase of a 153 MW solar power plant in Argeș county.

Rezolv Energy announced in November that it joined a 1.04 GW solar power project developed by Monsson. The site is in Arad in Romania’s west and the company said the construction would begin in June.

German company Profine Energy intends to install a floating solar power plant in Bulgaria with a capacity of 500 MW to 1.5 GW.

Spain-based Iberdrola and its partner Prosolia Energy said just last week that they are developing a 1.2 GW agrisolar project in Portugal. The company already operates the biggest solar park in Europe. The 590 MW Francisco Pizarro facility in Extremadura is in western Spain. It was commissioned in August.

Spain also hosts the biggest solar power complex, of 750 MW. The system in Aragon consists of 15 units with 50 MW each.

A 1 GW project is under development in France. The construction is underway in the Turkish Konya province, south of Ankara, of a plant with 1.35 GW in nameplate capacity, translating to 1 GW in connection power. The site is in Asia Minor, so geographically it’s outside of Europe.

In Serbia, Fintel energija and MK Group have launched the 660 MW Agrosolar Kula project for the simultaneous production of agricultural crops and electricity from solar energy. El Sun Energy plans to build a 950 MW solar power plant in Croatia.