Ukrainian billionaire Akhmetov completes 60 MW Ruginoasa wind farm in Romania

Ukrainian company DTEK, owned by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, has completed its Ruginoasa wind farm in Romania, an investment of EUR 90 million. The 60 MW wind farm, featuring the biggest wind turbines in the country so far, is expected to obtain a producer license and start commercial operations in the first quarter of 2024.

The Ruginoasa wind farm has 10 wind turbines, with a capacity of 6 MW each. The machines, supplied by Vestas, are 125 meters high, with a diameter of 162 meters. The wind farm will generate about 150 GWh of electricity a year, enough to supply some 43,000 homes, local media reported.

Ruginoasa has the biggest wind turbines ever installed in Romania

Ruginoasa is the only sizable wind project developed in Romania this year. It is located in Iași county in the northeast.

The facility has received the green light from Romania’s transmission system operator Transelectrica for a connection in consumer mode and is due to obtain a power producer license at the beginning of next year, according to domestic news outlets.

Daniel Rascu, business development manager at DTEK Renewables, the green energy arm of DTEK Group, noted that the company accounts for 60 MW out of a total of 72 MW of wind capacity installed in Romania in 2023.

Rascu was also quoted as saying that the wind farm would sell electricity through power purchase agreements (PPAs), “although these contracts are difficult to conclude.”

DTEK has acquired a 50 MW solar power project in Romania, and is developing a 127 MW wind farm in Croatia

DTEK operates a portfolio of 1 GW of solar and wind power. In addition to the wind farm in Ruginoasa, the company has bought a 50 MW photovoltaic project in Romania’s Mureș County. The investment is valued at EUR 60 million, according to reports.

Earlier this year, DTEK obtained an energy approval for a wind farm near Split, Croatia, with an installed capacity of 127 MW.

Also in Iași, Germany-based wpd recently obtained technical connection terms from Transelectrica for a wind farm of 128 MW.