Romania start selection process for its largest energy investment in 25 years

Romanian state owned company Hidro Tarnita launched the international selection procedure for investors interested in participating to the development of the Tarnita-Lapustesti Hydro power plant, which will have an installed capacity of 1,000 MW and will cost an estimated EUR 1 billion. The power plant, which has been on the state’s strategic investments list for three decades, should help adjust the imbalances in Romania’s energy system, caused by the increased production of energy from renewable sources (solar, wind), which is not constant. The Tarnita-Lapustesti Power plant is supposed to work both as an energy producer and an energy consumer, depending on the needs in the system. The project is located about 30 km away from Cluj-Napoca, in central Romania, on the Somesul Cald River. The Romanian Government approved in 2013 the creation of the Hidro Tarnita company, forcing state owned companies in the energy sector, such as Complexul Energetic Hunedoara, Nuclearelectrica and Complexul Energetic Oltenia, to participate in its creation together with the investors that will be selected. According to the selection announcement, interested investors should fulfil at least one of the following criteria: to own or to have built a similar hydro power plant with at least half the power (500 MW), to have traded more than 1 TWh of energy a year or to have contributed at least EUR 100 million to a finalized project in the energy sector with a value of at least EUR 500 million. editor@romania-insider.com