Romania’s largest solar park comes online

The 169 MW Iepurești photovoltaic park in Giurgiu County, fully owned by Israeli developer Nofar Energy, has entered the operational phase and is moving towards commercial operation, the company announced in a LinkedIn post. 

The facility is currently the largest operational solar park in Romania, although larger projects are under development. Nofar plans to expand the project to 400 MW.

Before entering full commercial operation, the plant must complete certification tests with the grid operator and obtain a connection certificate, followed by an operating licence from energy regulator ANRE.

Nofar said the Iepurești project forms a key part of its Romanian portfolio, which totals 850 MW of solar capacity and 2.3 GWh of storage. The company added that it is already at an advanced stage in integrating a large-scale battery energy storage system at the site.

“We are already in the advanced stages of integrating a large-scale energy storage system into the plant to maximize clean energy use and overall efficiency,” the company said.

According to Nofar, the facility is expected to generate about €19mn in revenue and approximately €16mn in EBITDA during its first year of operation.

The Iepurești park overtakes previous projects in size, but larger developments are already underway. Independent renewable energy producer Enery on May 27 launched construction of a 761 MW solar park with 1,000 MWh of battery storage in Ogrezeni, also in Giurgiu County. According to e-nergia.ro, the project will become Romania’s largest hybrid power plant and one of the biggest in Eastern Europe once completed.