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With its planned peak capacity revised upward to as high as 1.3 GW, Rezolv Energy’s Dama Solar would be the biggest photovoltaic plant in Europe, excluding Turkey. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is exploring the possibility of providing a loan for the endeavor, which it said would have 1.24 GW. The site is in the Arad county in western Romania.
Rezolv Energy is working on an advanced solar power project for up to 1.3 GW in peak capacity. Dama Solar in western Romania is the largest such facility planned in Europe. Updated documentation showed that the company lifted the proposed capacity by at least 200 MW. It surpassed Iberdrola’s Fernando Pessoa PV project in Portugal, for 1.2 GW, which has suffered delays over environmental concerns and disputed permits.
Dama Solar would have a 1.07 GW connection to the 400 kV transmission network via an underground cable of 3.5 to 3.6 kilometers. The location of 1,064 hectares is on the territory of the communes Pilu and Grăniceri, in Arad province near the border with Hungary.
Europe’s largest PV plant is Witznitz in Germany’s east. It has 650 MW in peak capacity. There is also an 850 MW cluster of 17 units in Spain, called Escatrón-Chiprana-Samper Solar Farm.
If the Asian part of Turkey is included, Kalyon Karapınar is at the top of the list. It has 1.35 GW in peak capacity and a 1 GW grid connection. Already one of the largest in the world outside China, the solar park is due for expansion into a complex of 1.85 GW in peak capacity.
Of note, Enery is building a 761 MW photovoltaic plant in Ogrezeni, just west of the capital Bucharest. The company obtained a grid connection approval for 534 MW in 2023. The investment includes a 534 MW battery energy storage system (BESS), with more than 1 GWh in planned capacity.
Loan decision by May 28
Dama Solar has caught the attention of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which revealed that it is exploring the possibility of providing a loan. According to its announcement, peak capacity would be 1.24 GW.
The lender expects to make a decision by May 28.
Rezolv Energy sees completion of Dama Solar by early 2029
Rezolv Energy plans to start construction in mid-2026 and complete it within two and a half years. It developed the project via its special purpose vehicle West Power Investments.
The entity won contracts for difference (CfDs) last summer for 520 MW for Dama Solar at a renewable energy auction in Romania.
Rezolv Energy divided the project into three units that would be commissioned one after another. It said some 500 workers would build the facility.
Carbon dioxide savings are projected at 619,000 tons per year.
Grăniceri Mayor Petru Claudiu Bătrânuţ said three years ago that a BESS of 500 MW was also planned.
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