Romgaz, GSP to Build Gas Power Plant, Solar Park in Romania

Romanian natural gas producer Romgaz [BSE:SNG] and Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) Holding signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a 150MW gas power plant and a 50MW solar park, the government said.

The MoU on the project, to be developed in Halanga, Mehedinti county, in southwestern Romania, was signed through GSP Power, a newly established company within the holding group, the government said in a press release on Friday.

The gas power plant will is expected to operate at 48% efficiency and will be extremely flexible, as it will be able to reach maximum capacity in less than two minutes since starting. Also, it will be able to withstand thousands of quick starts and stops per year, making it suitable for balancing the national energy system.

The solar park will be built on a 96 ha area which currently is a slag depot.

"Here in Halanga we made a first step towards a consolidated network of power plants that will be able to produce over 1,000 MW of electricity for Romania. Our project will transform a contaminated land into an area that will generate green energy. We are talking about a 100% private, Romanian investment, which can be completed, after receiving all approvals, in just 12 months," Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) Holding president and director Gabriel Comanescu said.

The project will be financed by GSP Power, which will also operate the plant, while Romgaz will deliver natural gas and receive the electricity produced at the plant. The amount of the planned investment was not disclosed. 

"Halanga is a project perfectly integrated with our national and European ambitions to develop, in the long term, a low pollution energy production  system, which would generate both jobs for the community and green energy (...)," Romgaz general manager Adrian Volintiru said.

Established earlier this year, GSP Power is a member of GSP Holding, a privately-owned Romanian company which carries out offshore drilling and construction activities offshore, production of oil equipment, as well as activities in the tourism sector.

The majority shareholder of Romgaz is the Romanian state with a 70% stake, with the balance of 30% in free float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange

Shares in Romgaz traded 0.17% higher at 28.6 lei ($7/6 euro) lei by 1135 CET on Monday on the BVB.

(SeeNews, September 14, 2020)


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