Romania won’t allow pumped storage project Đerdap 3 to jeopardize other Danube hydropower plants

Minister of Energy of Romania Sebastian Burduja said his country would closely follow developments around the Đerdap 3 pumped storage hydropower project and that it wouldn’t allow it, under any circumstances, to jeopardize production at the existing Đerdap 1 and 2 complex. His ministry earlier suggested that Romania could agree to participate with a 50% share.

Following a meeting with Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović in Kladovo, Romanian Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja visited the nearby Iron Gate 1 hydropower plant. Commenting on the neighboring country’s Đerdap 3 pumped storage hydropower project, he stressed that the government in Bucharest would carefully track the plans related to the investment. Romania won’t, under any circumstances, allow production at the existing Iron Gate 1 and 2 to come under jeopardy, Burduja said.

The location for Đerdap 3 is also on the Danube and on the shared border, upstream near the Lepenski vir archeological site. Serbia intends to make both upper reservoirs, Pesača and Brodica, on its own territory.

Yugoslavia and Romania built Iron Gate 1 and 2 together. The existing hydropower system is called Porțile de Fier in Romanian and Đerdap in Serbian.

It should be noted that Romania and Bulgaria qualified in July their joint hydropower project Turnu Măgurele – Nikopol on the Danube for the European Union’s financial support. Now included in the List of Renewable Energy Cross-border Projects (CB RES list), it was part of an agreement that they signed early last year for two hydroelectric systems on the same river.

Burduja: We won’t make any compromises around Đerdap 3 project

A preliminary feasibility study has been completed for Đerdap 3. Serbia plans to build the facility by 2040. State-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) and government officials said it would have 2.4 GW. But the particular capacities in pumping and production modes remain unclear.

The Serbian side has sent initial data on the proposed investment and its impact on the infrastructure of Iron Gate 1 and 2, Burduja revealed. Protecting the production capacity of the complex is crucial as it has a vital role in Romania’s energy system, the minister underscored.

Serbia conducted the said study with United States–based company Bechtel, Burduja asserted.

“As it is a pumped storage hydropower plant, we understand its importance, its role in ensuring system and balancing services, but – once again – we will not make any compromises regarding the production of electricity in Iron Gate 1 and 2,” he stated.

Romania earlier offered to discuss possibility of its participation in investment

Iron Gate 1, commissioned in 1972, is the largest hydropower plant in the European Union and fourth in size in Europe with its 2,282 MW, Burduja said. “Iron Gate 1 is a pillar of our energy system, and continuous investments in the modernization of this infrastructure are essential to ensure the stability and efficiency of electricity production. Hidroelectrica remains a strategic partner in achieving Romania’s objectives regarding the production of safe, green energy at a competitive price,” he pointed out.

Burduja’s ministry said in May that Đerdap 3 could substantially impact the environment and Danube’s navigability. The project must be seriously considered through joint working groups, officials said at the time.

“Cooperation at all levels with our Serbian friends and neighbors is very important, especially in the energy domain. For over 50 years, we have been successfully and jointly operating particularly complex hydropower and navigation facilities,” the ministry added three months ago and highlighted the example of the Iron Gate complex.

The Đerdap 3 endeavor cannot begin without an intensive and urgent dialogue, without Romania’s consent and close bilateral cooperation, its authorities have said.

Notably, the country’s government has also acknowledged that it could join in, suggesting the possibility for its participation of 50%.