The capacity of the project is unprecedented, the largest solar park currently under development in Romania being a 1,000 MW one in Arad, an investment that should amount to EUR800 million, developed by Monsson and financed by the British investment firm Actis through Rezolv Energy.
The investment in Hidroelectrica project could exceed EUR1.2 billion and the goal is to make it using EU funds.
According to an ADS presentation, the project will cover an area of 3,000 hectares and will be carried out as a partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Investment and European Projects, the Energy Ministry and Hidroelectrica. Basically, ADS leases the land directly to Hidroelectrica and will receive certain payments in return.
Furthermore, at the very end of last year, 10 Hidroelectrica investments, including this photovoltaic park, were declared to be of national interest by Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT), a decision immediately followed by their inclusion in an emergency ordinance, published on December 14, 175/2022. In practice, the special nature of these projects means that the approval process should go much faster.
The decision to include these investments in the category of projects of national interest is justified by the fact that in order to access EU funds, all these investments must be completed by 2026. Moreover, Romania has been facing a production deficit for three years and has had to import.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)