Over 40% of Romania’s energy is from hydroelectric power plants at this time and therefore it is vital that we have managed to ensure the operation of all six groups at Portile de Fier I, after entirely Romanian works, carried out by Hidroelectrica-Hidroserv-UCMH (UCM Resita), the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja said.
He also specified that storage is starting to be seen more and more often in the production board as today almost 400MWh are available in batteries given that a year ago there were 8MWh.
„Also today, Hidroelectrica announced the signing of the contract for the first battery energy storage project in the company’s portfolio. Hidroelectrica is developing through such strategic investments, which respond to one of the great current challenges of the energy system: storage. More precisely, how do we ensure that energy produced from renewable sources is not lost and can be used even on days when weather conditions are not favorable to us”, the minister of Energy wrote on his Facebook account on Monday evening.
The contract was signed by Hidroelectrica with the association formed by Prime Batteries Technology and Enevo Group, the winner of the tender launched at the end of last year.
„Prime is one of the companies we rely on, as a country, to develop storage capacities right here, at home. This will mean lower costs, possibilities for exporting technology and more local know-how. Enevo is, in turn, already a recognized player on foreign markets in the field of automation systems for the energy sector,” he added.
The storage installation with Li-ion batteries will be located within the Crucea Substation, part of the Crucea Nord Wind Farm – operated by Hidroelectrica, with an installed capacity of 108 MW. After commissioning, the installation will have a storage capacity of 72 MWh. The total value of the contract is almost 80 million lei excluding VAT, and the implementation period is 12 months.
The investment will directly contribute to reducing internal imbalances in the wind farm, improving turbine performance and providing balancing services for the entire national energy system.
„Romania needs a modern energy system and I congratulate, once again, all those who have the vision – from state and private companies – to act to achieve this objective. They will always have support from the Ministry of Energy. In fact, we are putting at stake a record amount of 380 million euros, non-reimbursable financing from the PNRR and the Modernization Fund, to support investment projects in battery storage capacities. We will thus exceed 3000MWh in the coming years, and batteries will become an important pillar of the national energy system. This will bring us more production, more balance, therefore safer and cheaper energy. And yes, this means lower bills for Romanians and Romanian companies in the future”, Burduja said.
AGERPRES
