ROMANIA: Alessio Menegazzo, CEO of PPC Romania: “After investments of 3 billion euros, we are at a capacity of 1,300 MW in renewables.” Target of 2,000 MW in 2026
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PPC has become, in less than a year, the first investor in electricity in Romania, after investments of almost 3 billion euros, and its production capacity has increased substantially in a very short time, reaching about 1.3 GW from renewable sources, said on Wednesday, Alessio Menegazzo, CEO & Country Manager of PPC companies in Romania.
The statement was made on the occasion of the inauguration, in Bucharest, by PPC Renewables Romania, of a new control room, capable of optimizing the production of the company’s increased portfolio of wind and photovoltaic parks and of carrying out in real time the dispatcher orders received from the electricity system operator.
“For us, this is an extremely important moment, even if it seems like just screens. This means something fundamental for us. PPC, as you well know, in less than a year, has become the first investor in electricity in Romania. We have invested approximately 3 billion euros in Romania since we have been present, with the takeover of ENEL, with subsequent acquisitions and our investment plan in the energy production part, in electrical networks is very ambitious. We want to continue and we have every confidence that we will have all the support from all institutions, as this investment process for Romania will be smooth, smart, coherent with the energy transition and as friendly as possible towards the final consumer, be it household or industrial”, said Menegazzo.
He stressed that the investments made by the company aim to increase Romania’s competitiveness, in the context we find ourselves in.
“Our power, our production capacity has increased substantially in a very short time, we are now at about 1.3 GW of installed capacity in Romania from renewable sources, obviously. This is also an element that signifies the importance of digitalization in the energy process, in the dispatching part. (…). The consumer has an increasingly important place in the energy transition, the energy system, and we must be extremely aware of this. All regulations, all legislative changes, all investments must have a purpose: the final consumer must be the beneficiary of the energy transition and the Green Deal. Otherwise, we have failed, and we have failed collectively – the institutions, be they regulatory, be they political, be they governmental, be they private players, large and small. If there is no shared vision and a roadmap that is coherent for everyone, we will fail and I think no one wants to fail”, argued Alessio Menegazzo.
In turn, Adrian Dugulan, CEO of PPC Renewables Romania, expressed his hope that, by the end of 2026, the company will reach its target of at least 2 GW installed from green energy.
“This control room is basically a natural step in what represents sustainable growth for a renewable energy company. In recent years, we have doubled our generation capacity, we have reached, as Alessio said, 1.3 GW installed. We have projects under construction and we hope to reach our target of at least 2 GW installed by the end of 2026. Through acquisitions, we have managed to expand our portfolio, both geographically and technologically. Today we manage wind, solar and hydro capacities, which makes the complexity of managing these capacities increasingly greater. That is why I said that this control room is just a natural step. Personally, I think it is the place where both the technical side, through the permanent connection that we must have with the National Energy Dispatcher, the way in which we contribute to the reliability of the system, and the commercial side, through the information that we can provide to the energy market and to our colleagues who deal with bidding in the energy market, meet, but it seems important to me to also mention the human component that, from this control room, also supervises the works in the stations, in the power plants, the maneuvers that are made, the operation of the parks, so that our colleagues get home healthy and we can work with zero accidents”, added Dugulan.
PPC Renewables Romania has inaugurated a new control room, capable of optimizing the production of the company’s increased portfolio of wind and photovoltaic parks and of carrying out in real time the dispatcher orders received from the electricity system operator.
The new control room is adapted to manage a larger volume of installations, in efficient conditions. The control room capabilities have been audited, and PPC Renewables Romania dispatchers have been authorized by the national electricity system operator. Thus, the company’s production units will be able to respond quickly to orders received from territorial or central energy dispatchers, fulfilling the obligations established by the Grid Code.
PPC Renewables Romania currently operates the following plants: Agighiol (wind) – 34 MW, Sălbatica 1 (wind) – 70 MW, Sălbatica 2 (wind) – 70 MW, Corugea (wind) – 70 MW, Sfânta Elena (wind) – 48.3 MW, Gebeleisis (wind) – 27 MW, Târguşor (wind) – 119.6 MW, Nicolae Bălcescu Târguşor (wind) – 59.8 MW, Berceni 1 (photovoltaic) – 9.8 MW, Berceni 2 (photovoltaic) – 9.4 MW, Colibaşi (photovoltaic) – 6.46 MW, Podari (photovoltaic) – 8.99 MW, Călugăreni (photovoltaic) – 49.7 MW, Mosteni 1 (photovoltaic) – 6.60 MW, Mosteni 2 (photovoltaic) – 6.60 MW, Mosteni 3 (photovoltaic) – 6.60 MW, Dorobantu (wind) – 84 MW, Fântânele Cogealac (wind) – 600 MW, Grebla, Crăinicel 1, Crăinicel 2, Breazova (hydro + floating photovoltaic) -22.3 + 1 MW.
PPC Group is advancing with the development of RES capacities, with new wind and photovoltaic projects being constantly added to the company’s existing portfolio, projects that have already reached an installed capacity of approximately 5.5 GW. Of these, 1.3 GW are located in Romania.
According to its three-year strategic plan, PPC Group will develop an additional 6.3 GW of renewables in Greece and the wider South-Eastern Europe region, with the aim of increasing the installed RES capacity to 11.8 GW by 2027. Currently, more than 60% of the renewable capacities to be added are already under construction or ready for construction.
PPC Group’s strategic plan includes entering new markets such as Italy, Bulgaria and Croatia, neighboring countries with existing interconnections.
Public Power Corporation (PPC) is the leading utility company in the energy sector in South-Eastern Europe, with activities in generation, distribution, network operation and sale of advanced energy products and services in Greece, Romania and North Macedonia. PPC has a total installed capacity of 11.5 GW, consisting of thermal, hydro and renewable sources with a total annual production of over 21 TWh. In Romania, PPC Renewables, part of the PPC Group, is a leader in renewable energy.
