Energo: French-based Veolia buys 430-MW power plant in Hungary from Uniper

Veolia has agreed to acquire a 430-MW power plant in north-west Hungary in Gonyu from Germany's Uniper, the French company announced on February 19. Veolia did not disclose the price of the gas-fuelled combined-cycle power plant. The transaction will be closed pending regulatory approval.

The sale by the German group comes after the EU approved the bailout and recapitalisation of the company in exchange for disposing of some of its assets.

E.ON AG, Germany's biggest utility, started building the power plant in January 2009, which was commissioned in 2011 from a €400mn investment. The facility has a 285-MW gas-fuelled turbine and a 148-MW steam-powered turbine, enough to power more than 600,000 homes.

Located near the Slovakian and Austrian borders, the Gonyu plant is the most modern and efficient in the country. It plays a crucial role in regulating and balancing the Hungarian power grid, thanks to cutting-edge technologies that make its production capacities flexible.