Renewables developer Econergy Renewable Energy has finalised the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreements for 172MW worth of solar PV projects in Romania.
Due to become operational in Q3 of 2023, the Parau project in the Brasov region and the Oradea project in the Bihor region join five other solar projects in Romania that Econergy expects to become operational next year.
The Parau EPC agreement was signed with Shanghai Electric Group and the Oradea contract was made with the CHINTEC Group. Collectively these EPC contractors have established around 4GW of solar PV globally, according to Econergy.
In February, Econergy secured more than €200 million (US$198.7 million) to support the construction of its Eastern European project pipeline, specifically in Romania and Poland.
“Part of our forward-looking strategy will involve continuing to invest in clean energy projects in markets such as Romania where changes to the regulations allow the industry to expand via PPAs, diversification of services to the grid and the introduction of other renewable energy technologies,” said Eyal Podhorzer, Econergy CEO.
The developer currently has a 1.5GW solar pipeline in Romania, including the ‘largest’ solar project in the country which it acquired in November 2021.
Romania’s solar market is also expected to see significant growth in the coming years, as reported in PV Tech Premium last month. The market’s early stage of development has led to higher returns than some Western European countries, and state-owned utility CE Oltenia’s plans to close 1.6GW of lignite generating capacity by 2026 is expected to create a gap that renewables are likely to fill.
Despite grid constraints and energy prices becoming of more pressing concern in the region since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this EPC agreement suggests that Econergy’s established presence in Romania will continue to grow.