ROMANIA: If everything goes according to plan, at the end of the year we will have another 1,700 MW in the system – Burduja
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New electricity production capacities of 1,373 MW would be put into operation by the end of the year, which means that in 2024 we will have another 1,700 MW in the system, i.e. three times more than in 2023 and 30 times more than two years ago, stated, on Wednesday, in a press conference, the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, quoted by Agerpres.
“Regarding the ongoing projects, some data, I think are interesting. In 2024, so far, 292 megawatts have been put into operation, solar 228, storage, the first battery storage capacities have started to appear, 36 megawatts, biogas 3 megawatts and hydrocarbons, a gas plant, private contractor, of 25 megawatts. By the end of this year, we expect to be able to put into operation other capacities, which add up to another 1,373 megawatts. So, if everything goes according to plan, at the end of 2024 we will still have 1,700 megawatts in the system, which is about three times more than last year and about 30 times more than two years before. This means that in the Romanian energy sector, all the investments, the European programs that we have put into operation, are bearing fruit. These new capacities are starting to be seen”, explained Burduja.
Among the important projects, he mentioned again Group 5 from Rovinari, “an investment expected for more than 10 years”, which, according to Wednesday’s evaluation, has chances to be put into operation by the end of this month.
“It means 330 megawatts for the National Energy System, a particularly important contribution,” said the minister.
In the area of hydrocarbons, the minister spoke about the “long-awaited” investment from Iernut, for which there is a graph from the entrepreneur Duro Felguera and, at this moment, the project has chances to be put into operation, at least partially, this year.
“Compared to the initial schedule assumed by the entrepreneurs, there are certain delays. Our objective at the moment is to put into operation at least half of the Iernut thermal power plant this year”, emphasized the Minister of Energy.
He recalled another important investment, from the Romanian-Kazakh Fund, namely the Midia cogeneration plant, where the works are completed in a very large proportion, almost 95%. There will be up to 70 MW, “a gas group, flexible, much needed group”.
At the same time, Sebastian Burduja signaled that a spectacular evolution is clearly visible in the area of photovoltaic panels, from where another 683 MW is expected by the end of this year, to which are added the 228 already put into operation.
“Do you realize? That’s nearly 1,000 megawatts of brand-new solar this year. Wind, slightly less, 76 megawatts by the end of the year and, very importantly, another 84 megawatts of storage. They are advanced projects, which means that at the end of this year we have every chance to have somewhere around 110 megawatts of storage capacities put into operation this year. Storage in batteries”, pointed out the Minister of Energy.
He added that the ministry is in the last evaluation phase with the PNRR call for 80 million euros for storage in batteries and that, from the analysis made, the projects that will qualify for the contracting phase amount to somewhere around 1,500 MWh.
“You can divide by two, if you want to see approximately the installed power. So, here, in a year, a year and a half, we will have another 750-800 megawatts in batteries in Romania, which is really the biggest need of the system”, said Sebastian Burduja.
