Rezolv signs VPPA for Vifor wind power project in Romania

Actis-backed Rezolv Energy signed the sixth virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for its Vifor wind power project in Romania’s east. The arrangement is for 150 MWh per year.

A2A, an Italian group active in the energy, water and environment sectors, has signed a seven-year VPPA with Rezolv Energy. The agreement provides for the purchase of 150 GWh of electricity produced in the future Vifor wind farm in Buzău county, northeast of Bucharest. It is equivalent to the consumption of 73,000 Romanian households for a year, according to Rezolv.

It is the sixth VPPA for the Vifor project, all signed since June, the company noted. Together they amount to 460 GWh per year – more PPA capacity than any other developer has secured in South Eastern Europe, according to Rezolv.

The VPPA is a relatively new concept in the region

The first phase is for 192 MW, with a planned expansion to 461 MW. Vifor is scheduled to come onstream before the end of next year.

Virtual power purchase agreements are still a relatively new concept in South Eastern Europe but they are becoming an increasingly important facilitator of the energy transition, said Chief Executive Officer of Rezolv Energy Alastair Hammond.

The new VPPA demonstrates the strong demand for clean, renewable energy that exists in the commercial and industrial (C&I) market as businesses look to decarbonize and meet their net zero targets, according to Partner and Head of Central and Eastern Europe for Energy Infrastructure at Actis, Jaroslava Korpanec.

Dama Solar project in Romania would now be biggest in Europe

Headquartered in Prague, Rezolv has entered several markets in the Balkans since its establishment a year and a half ago. It has more than 2 GW of clean energy capacity being prepared for construction in the region. The projects include Dama Solar in western Romania which, at 1.04 GW, would be the largest solar plant anywhere in Europe at the moment.

According to its website, the company also manages wind parks Obrovac (42 MW) in Croatia, Bogoslovec (36 MW) in North Macedonia and Chirnogeni, of 80 MW, in Romania.

It takes renewable projects – wind, solar and storage – from late-stage development through construction and into long-term operation.

Changing energy landscape with renewables, PPA-VPPA deals

Rezolv is changing the energy landscape in neighboring Bulgaria as well. Earlier this month it selected CMC Europe and Solarpro as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partner for the St. George solar power plant project.

The 229 MW facility in northeastern Bulgaria would be connected to the main transmission grid via a 110 kV substation and two independent connection lines, totaling six kilometers. The company selected a domestic contractor, Green Solar Energy, for high-voltage work.

St. George PV plant in Bulgaria to be finished next year

St. George, located in the municipality of Silistra, is set to become one of Bulgaria’s largest solar farms. Rezolv Energy noted it would build it on a brownfield site: a decommissioned airfield covering 165 hectares. The project comprises nearly 400,000 solar panels.

The power will be sold to commercial and industrial users through long-term PPAs, the company revealed. It said it would announce the first deal soon as one of the first in Bulgaria.

St. George will be financed through loan facilities from a consortium of international lending partners and regional commercial lenders, Rezolv Energy pointed out. It plans to get the photovoltaic facility onstream next year and operate it for more than 30 years.

Solarpro works with hybrid projects, solar and wind power , battery energy storage systems (BESS) and hydrogen solutions. It has designed, built, and integrated PV plants with a total capacity exceeding 7 GW. China National Machinery or CMC provides integrated solutions in trade and engineering services.

Rezolv’s main shareholder, sustainable infrastructure investment firm Actis, has raised USD 25 billion so far. Earlier this year it agreed to be taken over by private equity firm General Atlantic.