British independent power producer Rezolv Energy has acquired a 1044MW PV project in Romania, according to foreign media reports. Romania plans to launch a real-time tariff contract scheme early next year, which will see the installation of 3.5GW of photovoltaic systems and wind power facilities.
Rezolv Energy is seeking technical solutions and debt financing and expects to continue construction of the project early next year, with operations due to start in 2025. However, the company did not disclose the financial terms of the acquisition deal.
Rezolv Energy was launched in August this year with a €500 million investment from sustainable infrastructure investor Actis. At its inception, the company said it planned to provide unsubsidised clean energy at long-term stable prices to commercial and industrial customers and other offtakers in central and south-eastern Europe. It was also announced that agreements had been signed for the development of two wind power projects with a total installed capacity of 1GW.
The Romanian photovoltaic market is about to grow rapidly and the country's electricity sector will be boosted by the launch of a real-time tariff contract scheme that guarantees a minimum price for the sale of electricity and replaces the previous Green Certificate scheme.
Mihai Balan, executive director of the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA), said: "Under the Romanian National Recovery and Resilience Programme (NRRP), more than 1,500MW of PV systems are planned to be installed in the first round of RTT contracts, which are expected to be operational in the second half of 2023. In the second round of real-time tariff contracts, 2GW of PV systems are planned to be installed to be operational in the first half of 2025."
The Romanian government is developing the scheme in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with a planned investment of €125 million per year, according to a guide published in 2020.
Balan said, "It is a milestone in our Romanian National Recovery and Resilience Programme (NRRP) that we start operating the first PV systems supported by the programme by 2026. We initially expected the program to be released to the public at the end of this year, but given the current state of the energy market and the fact that I am steadily moving towards a regulated market, we will see more progress in early 2023."
Romanian Energy Minister Virgil Popescu said earlier this year that the plan would translate into an explosion in installed renewable energy capacity. He noted, however, that real-time tariff contracts (CfD) would also be used to finance conventional energy sources such as nuclear power.
There have also been a number of developments in the Romanian PV market, including the lifting of the ban on power purchase agreements, which had been in place for almost 10 years, the introduction of a 1:1 ration for production consumers with an installed capacity of up to 200kW, and a tender for the installation of the country's first renewable energy generation facility (with an installed capacity of 950MW).
The Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA) has responded by raising its expectations for the installation of more than 3GW of renewable energy by 2026, of which 2GW of PV systems are planned.
Balan said earlier this year that "more than 65% of the electricity generated will come from PV systems due to their shorter installation time and our obligation to connect them to the grid by 2024."
By 2030, Romania could receive more than 16 billion euros in recovery and modernisation funding from the EU for an overhaul of its energy sector. The Romanian government has allocated €457.7 million for a 950MW renewable energy procurement campaign launched in March this year, which is open to both wind and photovoltaic systems and may be accompanied by the installation of energy storage systems.
Romania has committed to phasing out coal-fired power plants by 2032 and replacing them with nuclear and gas-fired power generation facilities and renewable energy facilities. The company has also said that it will restructure CE Oltenia, which is mainly a coal-fired power producer, and replace coal-fired power plants with 725MW of photovoltaic systems and natural gas generation facilities by 2026.