OMV Petrom teams up to build four solar energy parks in Romania
03/10/2022 08:39
BUCHAREST, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Romanian oil and gas firm
OMV Petrom ROSNP.BX said on Monday it will team up with
state-owned lignite power producer CE Oltenia to build four
photovoltaic parks that should provide electricity to the
national power grid from 2024.
The plan will cost around 400 million euros ($391.76
million), mostly from European Union funds, and the parks will
have a combined installed capacity of around 450 MW, said
Petrom, which is majority-controlled by Austria's OMV OMVV.VI .
Romania has committed to phasing out coal by 2032 and
replacing it with gas, nuclear and renewable energy.
The new parks, which will be built on the sites of former
mining operations operated by CE Oltenia in southern Romania,
will boost the country's installed solar energy capacity by a
third from around 1.4 GW currently, OMV Petrom board member
Franck Neel said.
The EU's modernisation fund - a programme under the European
Green Deal which supports 10 lower-income member states in
upgrading their energy systems - will provide 70% of the funds
for the project and the two companies will provide the rest.
Romania had planned to restructure CE Oltenia by 2026 and
replace its old capacity with solar power and gas, although
Energy Minister Virgil Popescu has said the current energy
crisis could push back the deadlines.
OMV Petrom aims to build over 1 GW of renewable power by
2030, including through partnerships.
($1 = 1.0210 euros)
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Susan Fenton)
((luiza.ilie@thomsonreuters.com; +4021 527 0312; https://www.reuters.com/journalists/luiza-ilie))