Israeli renewable energy company Nofar Energy announced in mid-July that it will build a new 255MW PV project in southern Romania. With this project, the company’s PV portfolio in that country now comes to a total of 579MW. This news was first reported by other renewable energy news websites.
According to the company’s press release about the new project, the construction phase is expected to begin next year following the completion of the permitting process. Currently, the project is at the “advanced stage” of development. The construction cost is estimated at EUR 135 million (USD 135.79 million).
The project will span an area of 290ha. Nofar said that the project will be connected to a high-voltage transmission network that will enable the direct flow of the electricity generated by the PV systems, thereby cutting down the construction cost.
Nofar has an 85.5-90% stake in the project, which will produce an estimated annual revenue of EUR 27 million once it is up and running. The other investors in the project have yet to be disclosed.
Besides this new project, Nofar is developing two other projects in Romania. One is the 155MW Ratesti project, the other is the 169MW Iepuresti project. The company aims to install 1GW of renewable generation capacity in the country by the end of this year. It has also set aside more than EUR 300 million to develop or acquire PV and wind projects in the country during the 2023-2024 period.
In March, Romania’s Ministry of Energy launched a tender scheme for 950MW of renewable energy projects. The scheme, which offers financial support totaling EUR 457.7 million, is jointly backed by the Romanian government and the European Commission. The funding is being provided under the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan that has been devised for the member states of the EU. Recently, the Ministry of Energy warned that the country is behind schedule to reach the 950MW target by mid-2024.