Restart Energy agrees grid connection for Romania’s second biggest solar park

Agrovoltaics, a subsidiary of Romania’s Restart Energy group, has concluded an EUR 11.3 million grid connection agreement with transmission system operator (TSO) Transelectrica for the second largest solar park in the country. The 500 MW project will be financed by the US export credit agency, according to a statement from the company.

Restart Energy expects construction to begin in the second quarter of 2025 and the project to be completed by the end of 2026. The photovoltaic park, located in the town of Şimand in Romania’s Arad province, should be able to supply electricity to about 200,000 households.

The solar park’s annual electricity output is projected at over 800,000 MWh. This should help reduce carbon emissions by about 400,000 tons per year, or a total of 12 million tons throughout the operating life of the facility, resulting in EUR 1 billion in environmental benefits, according to the statement.

The US export credit agency is ready to provide USD 380 million for the project

The company has received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to provide USD 380 million in financing for the project, according to the statement. The financing would be provided through US-based fund Interlink Capital Strategies, which signed a partnership agreement with the Romanian renewable energy company in January 2021.

Restart Energy plans to use American technology, which will include state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels produced by SEG Solar and energy storage batteries produced by Tesla, with a total capacity of 1 GWh.

Restart Energy will use American solar panels and batteries

In February 2021, Restart Energy successfully launched the first issue of convertible green bonds in Romania, which were listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Romania seeks to develop enough renewable energy capacities to meet its national target of 30.7% of renewables in the energy mix. According to the country’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (INECP), projections for the year 2030 foresee an increase in solar capacities of up to 6.9 GW.