Hidroelectrica, Romania’s largest power producer, and Masdar, the state-owned renewable energy company of the United Arab Emirates, have agreed on the construction of offshore wind farms and floating solar farms in Romania – Fmbusiness.hu reports.
The agreement on the establishment of the joint venture between Hidroelectrica and Masdar was signed in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and the President of the Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahajan.
Hidroelectrica: A joint venture to attract investments
With production in an average hydrological year of over 17 TWh generated in branches located strategically on the territory of the country, Hidroelectrica supplies about 30% of the total production of energy of Romania. The company operates 187 hydropower plants and has an installed capacity of 6.3 gigawatts (GW), supplying 15.7 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy to the Romanian electricity grid per year.
„Hidroelectrica wants to leverage Masdar’s experience in renewable energy, not least its capital strength, to attract investments in Romania” – said Bogdan Badea, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hidroelectrica.
Masdar: Renewable energy projects in 40 countries
According to the announcement of the Romanian company, Masdar has participated in the implementation of renewable energy projects in 40 countries in the last 16 years and has commissioned energy facilities with an installed capacity of about 23 GW.
According to the G4Media.ro news portal reporting on the agreement, Hidroelectrica and Masdar would build photovoltaic parks on the Danube and the Olt rivers. The former in the Ostrovu area, at the Iron Gate II hydroelectric power station, and the latter at a disused dam on the Olt in the municipality of Mundra (Mandra) in Brasov County.
The electricity generated by the solar farms to produce green hydrogen
Last June, Economedia reported that Hidroelectrica had launched a public tender for the feasibility studies of its solar parks and hydrogen plants on the Danube and the Olt rivers.
The electricity generated by the solar parks would be used to produce green hydrogen. The project in Brasov County is expected to produce 15,000 tonnes of high-purity green hydrogen per year, while the Iron Gate II project is expected to produce 7,500 tonnes of high-purity green hydrogen per year, which, according to Hidroelectrica, could generate an annual benefit of €900 million for the Romanian state.
Photo: Masdar facebook