Austrian investors to build 142 MW wind park in Romania in 2023

Windkraft Simonsfeld is investing EUR 150 million in its Sfânta Elena wind power project in the Caraş-Severin county in Romania’s southwest. The Austrian company plans to complete the 142 MW facility next year.

Romania’s transmission system operator Transelectrica approved the technical terms to Windkraft Simonsfeld for the connection of its Sfânta Elena wind power project to the grid. The facility in the Caraş-Severin county in Banat with a planned capacity of 142 MW will cost EUR 150 million, according to Ziarul Financiar, which reported that the company intends to complete the installation next year.

The firm, based in Ernstbrunn, Lower Austria, was founded in 1996. According to its website, it has 89 wind turbines in Austria with 236.1 MW in total and two in Bulgaria of 2 MW each, as well as a small solar power plant in Slovakia.

Windkraft Simonsfeld has another wind project lined up in Banat

The article notes that energy producers are returning any profit to the government above EUR 92.3 per MWh from the electricity that they sell, according to a rule that came into force on September 1.

Windkraft Simonsfeld’s data shows that another subsidiary, Windpark Banat RO, secured the land rights for a wind park in the same county in Romania’s southwest, near the border with Serbia. As for Sfânta Elena, it is planned to have 22 turbines. The company said it has other wind and solar projects in various stages of planning in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and France.

Eurowind Energy from Denmark acquires wind park project in Constanța county

In other news in the sector, Denmark-based Eurowind Energy completed the takeover of the 48 MW Pecineaga wind farm project in Constanța county, Profit.ro reported. After buying a 6% stake in 2019, the company now acquired the 71.7% held by businessman Nicolae Bârsan’s firm Iros Brave 21, leaving WEP Technology Investment as a minority partner.

The project has received a connection permit from Transelectrica. The completion is expected in the second half of 2024, the article adds. Eurowind Energy already ordered all eight wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa. The model is SG 6.6-170. It signed a 20-year maintenance deal with the supplier.

Romania is rushing to boost its wind farm capacity, including offshore facilities, to meet tight deadlines for European funding, increase energy independence from Russia, mitigate the effects of the global energy crisis and decarbonize its economy.