Photo: LONGi
A solar power plant in Romania’s northwest is on schedule to be connected to the grid in the fourth quarter of this year. The 54.1 MW facility in Chișineu-Criș features LONGi Solar’s back contact or BC modules, with an efficiency of 24.8%. It is the largest solar installation for retail infrastructure in the country.
LONGi Solar, a global leader in solar technology, has deployed 54.1 MW of its Hi-MO 9 back contact (BC) modules at the CEF Chișineu-Criș solar park in Romania’s Arad county. Developed for NEPI Rockcastle and its subsidiary Solpower Energy, and engineered by engineering, purchase and construction (EPC) partner Enevo Group, this utility-scale project – Romania’s largest solar installation for retail infrastructure – will positively impact the direct pathway for decarbonization at NEPI Rockcastle’s property portfolio in Romania, showcasing BC technology’s pivotal role in grid-scale renewable transitions.
The Chișineu-Criș facility, features 84,000 Hi-MO 9 modules, strategically deployed to maximize energy autonomy for NEPI Rockcastle’s retail assets in Romania. The plant, located in the country’s northwest, has been in full ownership of the leading owner and developer of shopping centers across Central and Eastern Europe since last year.
Hi-MO 9 has unmatched performance
Construction started in January 2025, and it remains on schedule for a grid connection in the fourth quarter. The project exemplifies BC technology’s scalability, with Hi-MO 9’s 24.8% module efficiency and -0.26%/°C temperature coefficient, ensuring optimal performance in Romania’s continental climate.
“This project exemplifies how BC technology transforms utility-scale solar into a reliable backbone for major infrastructure. Hi-MO 9’s unmatched performance ensures NEPI Rockcastle’s portfolio achieves energy stability,” stated Mirel Jarnea, Country Manager Utility Scale Business Unit of LONGi.
Faced with Romania’s grid limitations and land efficiency demands, Hi-MO 9’s back contact architecture eliminated front-grid shading losses to achieve 8% higher yield versus TOPCon products. Its PID/LID resistance guarantees 30-year performance stability – critical for NEPI Rockcastle’s long-term asset strategy – while minimizing maintenance costs across the 54.1 MW site.
Eduard Meiloiu, Executive Director Renewables BU of ENEVO, said: “Our collaboration with LONGi has been seamless from start to finish, reflecting a truly efficient and aligned partnership. BC technology brought clear engineering advantages – from higher efficiency and improved thermal performance to long-term reliability. Our engineering team greatly appreciated the precision and flexibility of the solution, which enabled us to deliver a robust project tailored to local conditions and fully aligned with Romania’s sustainability goals.”
Project to create over one hundred local jobs
This project is expected to generate around 70,171 MWh of clean electricity each year, which is enough to power approximately 29,300 Romanian homes. In doing so, it will also help avoid around 21,100 tons of CO₂ emissions annually, as contribution to climate goals.
Beyond environmental benefits, the project will create over 100 local jobs and give priority to regional contractors, boosting the local economy. By aligning climate mitigation with local economic development, this utility-scale solar initiative highlights how renewable infrastructure can meaningfully contribute to emissions reduction and socio-economic resilience.
Radu: NEPI Rockcastle’s photovoltaic project pipeline will enable it to generate 6% of its portfolio’s electricity needs
“NEPI Rockcastle’s green energy program is advancing through three major stages, reflecting our long-term commitment to sustainability and decarbonization. We’re investing EUR 110 million in new photovoltaic projects, including solar panel installations across 23 properties in CEE and greenfield developments in Romania totaling 159 MW in capacity. These efforts already enable us to generate 6% of our portfolio’s electricity needs and will help us reach our target of 84% renewable electricity usage. As part of this program, we partnered with LONGi specifically for the Chișineu-Criș solar project, where their high-efficiency photovoltaic modules are helping us deliver a flagship utility-scale development in Romania. This collaboration supports our strategic goal of enhancing the use of electricity from renewable sources and energy autonomy of our retail assets,” concluded Andrei Radu, Group Development Director at NEPI Rockcastle.
As Eastern Europe’s premier solar portfolio directly powering retail infrastructure, CEF Chișineu-Criș establishes a replicable model for large-scale renewable integration. With NEPI Rockcastle planning expansion across its property network, LONGi’s BC technology stands ready to accelerate Europe’s utility-scale revolution.
About NEPI Rockcastle
NEPI Rockcastle is Europe’s third-largest listed retail real estate company by investment portfolio value and the largest owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The company’s EUR 8 billion portfolio is located across eight CEE countries and includes 60 properties. It is a market leader in Romania and Poland (NEPI Rockcastle’s two largest markets) and has shopping centers in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania.
About LONGi
Founded in 2000, LONGi is committed to being the world’s leading solar technology company, focusing on customer-driven value creation for full scenario energy transformation.
Under its mission of “making the best of solar energy to build a green world,” LONGi has dedicated itself to technology innovation and established several business sectors, covering mono silicon wafers, cells and modules, commercial and industrial distributed solar solutions, green energy solutions and hydrogen equipment. The company has honed its capabilities to provide green energy and has, more recently, also embraced green hydrogen products and solutions to support global zero-carbon development.
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