Czech Pwr Group CEZ To Develop 600MW Wind Pwr Proj E Romania

According to CEZ, the two projects will together be the largest onshore wind farm in Europe, approximately double the size of the next largest fully permitted onshore wind farm in Europe, and triple the size of the largest current operational wind farm in Europe.

The projects’ development will start in September and is scheduled to become operational in stages, by the end of 2010.

The first stage will be finalized late 2009, when the wind plants will have a total installed capacity of 347.5 MW, generated by 139 wind turbines supplied by General Electric.

The project has already got all necessary authorizations, CEZ representatives said.

The wind turbines currently producing power in Romania have a total installed capacity of only 7 MW.

Romania’s state-owned power grid operator Transelectrica got requests for connecting wind turbines with a total installed capacity of over 12.000 megawatts to the country’s power grid, while the two operational nuclear reactors of Romania’s sole nuclear power station Cernavoda, with a total installed capacity of some 1,400 MW, produce 17-18% of Romania’s energy demand.

The national power grid will not be able to manage the high volume of wind farms production for which Transelectrica got requests, the company’s representatives said last week.

Transelectrica’s representatives said that the company might be able to connect wind turbines with a capacity of up to 4,000 MW, adding that some 75% of wind farm projects announced will not materialize.

The most advanced wind farm project is located between Tulcea and Constanta cities, eastern Romania, with a total installed capacity of 600 MW, whose investment might reach EUR600 million.

The project might become operational in 2009.

CEZ has been present on the Romanian market since 2005, when it bought Romanian electric power supplier Electrica Oltenia.

CEZ is involved in building nuclear reactors 3 and 4 of power station Cernavoda, alongside ArcelorMittal’s Romanian unit, Belgium’s Electrabel, Germany’s RWE, Italy’s Enel SpA, Spain’s Iberdola, and Romanian state-owned nuclear energy company Nuclearelectrica, the operator of Cernavoda.

CEZ and French utility Gaz de France also placed bids to upgrade and expand a power plant owned by Romania’s state-run thermal power plant Termoelectrica in Galati city, eastern Romania.

The Czech group also competes with Germany’s Electrabel and E.ON for a similar project in Borzesti.