Romania's newest wind farm may add solar, storage, as country faces energy crunch

Rezolv Energy plans to add battery storage to the Vifor wind farm it launched this week in Romania and could add solar generating capacity too, its ‌CEO said, as the country faces a power supply crunch after the idling of its sole nuclear plant.

Romania suspended its last working nuclear reactor over the summer due to low water levels on the Danube river, knocking out a fifth of the country's power capacity. ‌It declared a state of energy emergency throughout August, asking consumers to cut power use during peak hours. Rezolv, backed by British ‌investor Actis, formally launched the 192 MW first phase of Vifor in Buzau County on Thursday after construction was completed, with the plant now feeding power into the grid.

It now plans to add another source of power generation and storage capacity, potentially combining wind, solar panels, and batteries — so-called "hybridisation" — to create more stable supply, CEO ⁠Alastair Hammond ​told Reuters. "We already have the ⁠first step of planning to put a large battery there so that we can hybridize this wind farm," Hammond said.

"We're also thinking potentially of completely hybridizing and actually ⁠putting solar panels in the region as well. So we'll have solar, wind, and storage." WIND FARM SLATED TO BE EUROPEAN UNION'S THIRD LARGEST

The ​farm launches as solar output fades into autumn, while Romania's two nuclear reactors remain offline and hydropower production is low amid ⁠persistent drought. At the launch, wind whistled around the Vestas turbines — each of which can power about 1,000 homes — kicking up dust and blowing off hats. At full ⁠capacity ​in mid-2027, Vifor's 461 megawatts will make it the European Union's third-largest wind farm.

Romania has added more than 1.5 gigawatts of renewable generation and 1 GW of storage so far this year. "The country still needs more storage and flexible capacity to keep the ⁠supply secure," said Alina Arsani of the Energy Policy Group think tank.

With storage capacity insufficient to smooth intermittent output, imports help to ⁠keep the system balanced, the ⁠power grid operator said. "We can bring in energy at times when not enough power is produced in Romania," said Stefanita Munteanu, head of grid operator Transelectrica.

"There is indeed additional pressure on interconnecting lines, but ‌here we are two ‌months after the reactors were shut down and the lights are ​still on." (Editing by Jan Harvey)