The agreement covers the EPC for a 2-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) project including procuring the BESS technology and testing the system once complete. The contract is worth RON168.9 million lei excluding VAT (US$39.1 million) and the project needs to be completed by Simtel in the next nine months.
“Through this investment, Romania is taking a significant step towards strengthening its energy infrastructure and increasing flexibility in consumption and production. Storage systems represent an essential pillar in the energy transition process and in the sustainable development of power grids,” said Mihai Tudor, CEO of Simtel.
The project is located in the village of Iaz, in the Obreja commune, part of the Caras-Severin County.
Energy Capital Group’s investment will be part-funded by an over RON50 million lei grant via a capex support scheme for energy storage, itself funded by the EU-wide Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) programme. Romania is using it to part-fund an initial 2.5GWh of projects, finalised last year.
Simtel said that Romania currently has 398.8MWh of BESS online, citing figures from transmission system operator (TSO) Transelectrica, but that figure will grow substantially in the coming few years.
Numerous large-scale projects have entered the construction or construction services procurement phase in the past year, including a 36MW/72MWh project from power generation firm Hidroelectrica, a 127MW/254MWh project from developer/IPP R.Power, and a 35MW/70MWh project from power and utility firm Electrica (both covered here).
