December 27, 2025
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OMV Petrom, CE Oltenia building solar parks of 550 MW in total

Coal land of Romanian state-owned CE Oltenia is undergoing transformation with the beginning of construction of four photovoltaic plants. The projects, which the company is conducting with OMV Petrom, are for 550 MW in combined capacity. In a separate partnership, with Tinmar Energy, 280 MW more is in development.

Almost four years after the European Union approved the grants from the Modernisation Fund and the start of negotiations between Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CE Oltenia) and OMV Petrom about a partnership, their four solar power projects of 550 MW in total peak capacity reached the construction phase. They would cover the equivalent of an estimated 410,000 Romanian households’ annual consumption, the update adds.

The largest integrated energy company in Southeastern Europe and Romania’s main coal power producer are building the photovoltaic systems in Ișalnița, Tismana, and Rovinari in the coal region in the counties of Dolj and Gorj. CE Oltenia and OMV Petrom expect the facilities to become operational next year.

OMV Petrom, CE Oltenia partnership receives first tranche of EU funding

Total investment is over EUR 400 million, with 70% financed through the Modernisation Fund. There are four joint ventures, in which the partners hold 50% each. Just this month, they received the first EUR 16 million, the announcement reveals.

The locations are on CE Oltenia’s coal land. They are aimed at partly substituting the power plants there, as Romania is heading for a coal exit by 2032.

“Through these projects, OMV Petrom reaffirms its commitment to a low-carbon energy future, contributing to Romania’s and the EU’s climate objectives. We are transforming a region with a long-standing tradition in coal-based energy into a renewable energy hub,” said Franck Neel, member of OMV Petrom’s Executive Board responsible for Gas and Power.

Ameresco and Sunel won three contracts together, and Turkey-based Girişim is in charge of the fourth one

Following tenders, contractors for the design and execution were picked in April. The consortium of United States–based Ameresco and Sunel is tasked with the projects Rovinari Est, Tismana 1, and Tismana 2. The latter company is registered in the United Kingdom, but its operational headquarters are in Athens, Greece. The capacity amounts to 460 MW.

Turkish company Girişim Elektrik is in charge of the fourth endeavor. The site is a slag deposit at the CE Ișalnița coal-fired power plant. Per earlier documentation, the contractors will operate the solar power systems for three years and transfer them to the owners.

Coal miners becoming PV installers

OMV Petrom said it is supporting the RenewAcad program in the nearby city of Târgu Jiu, where CE Oltenia is seated.

In the past two years, over 200 mining technicians have been retrained as photovoltaic system installers. The initiative is part of a broader effort. It involved training over 10,000 professionals for Romania’s energy transition, the company added.

Another 280 MW of solar power is in pipeline

CE Oltenia, also known as CEO, runs another four PV projects totaling 280 MW in planned peak capacity with its partner Tinmar Energy. They received 13 bids and the procedure is ongoing.

The partnership model is the same, and so is the share of investment that the Modernisation Fund covers. The locations are slag and ash deposits at coal plants Rovinari and Turceni, and external dumps Pinoasa and Bohorelu.

The fifth partnership between CE Oltenia and Tinmar is for a CCGT (combined-cycle gas turbine) power plant of 475 MW in Turceni. It is suffering heavy delays. The Modernisation Fund has approved a grant for 50% of the investment.

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October 30, 2025
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EU allows Romania to delay shutdown of coal plants until end-2029

Amid severe delays in projects for gas power plants, the European Commission approved Romania’s request to push back the closure of several coal-fired systems. The country is increasingly risking electricity shortages due to the lack of baseload capacity.

Romania will be able to keep three coal plants in operation until the end of 2029, following the renegotiation with the European Commission of the decarbonization calendar for electricity production, Minister of Energy Bogdan Ivan said. In a social media post, he announced that 900 MW would remain online.

Two other coal plants can operate at least until the end of August next year, Ivan revealed earlier at a press conference, where he first said the closure of 990 MW would be postponed until the end of 2029.

Turceni, Ișalnița gas power plants must be completed by 2029

State-owned Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CE Oltenia) remains fully active until the end of the summer, he added. “We will continue to have active coal-fired units in the city of Craiova, in order to continue to supply heat to the population, electricity, and steam to the Ford company. And those in Govora, which will produce heat for the inhabitants this winter, until the summer, when the municipality’s [Râmnicu Vâlcea] new energy system comes into operation,” the minister stated, as quoted by Profit.ro.

Romania was supposed to take 1.76 GW of coal power capacity offline at the end of this year. Ivan earlier warned of the risk of energy poverty and even blackouts. He explained that the European Commission accepted the 2029 deadline for the commissioning of CCGT (combined-cycle gas turbine) power plants in Turceni and Ișalnița.

Ivan: Romania will have 1.5 GW of coal power available in the winter season

The two new facilities of 1.33 GW would replace the coal plants in the same two towns. Their projects have suffered massive delays. Tender procedures are still ongoing for contracting the works.

Romania will have 1.5 GW of coal power available this winter, the minister claimed. In the amended National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP or PNRR), the Rovinari and Turceni coal plants in Gorj county and one in the Jiu Valley in Hunedoara remain, together with the units in Craiova and Râmnicu Vâlcea.

Deal with EU to halve estimated nominal gap in winter

In a document from the beginning of October, National Energy Dispatcher (DEN), a unit of transmission system operator Transelectrica, said it counted on 850 MW from lignite for the upcoming winter. The season lasts from November through March. It would be one unit in Turceni, of 250 MW, with another one in technical reserve, and two units of 600 MW in total in Rovinari, having a third one as backup.

The electricity production deficit in the peak evening hours would range from 1.12 GW in the moderate scenario, to a stunning 3.8 GW.

The minimum required reserve is 1,000 MW, but only 520 MW would be available, so the expected gap was actually 1.6 MW – or 4.3 GW in the pessimistic version! The report puts transmission capacity at 4.5 GW for exports and 4.2 GW for imports.

Notably, Turceni, a small town in southwestern Romania dependent on the local coal power plant, is kickstarting a EUR 380 million project. The municipal authority is turning to agrivoltaics, energy storage and green hydrogen to replace it.

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October 30, 2025
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Romania’s coal town Turceni starts EUR 380 million green energy transformation

Turceni is dependent on the local coal power plant, so the municipal authority is turning to agrivoltaics, energy storage and green hydrogen to replace it. The small town in southwestern Romania is kickstarting a EUR 380 million project.

The coal plant in Turceni used to be one of the biggest in Europe, at 2.3 GW. Located next to the eponymous town in Romania’s Gorj coal region, only two units of 660 MW in total are still operational. At the same time, dozens of such facilities across Europe are shutting down ahead of schedule. The power plant and its associated mines within Complexul Energetic Turceni have been essential for the local economy, which is under threat of devastation amid the country’s coal phaseout.

As with other coal regions in the European Union, the solution is in green energy and new technologies. The town hall has signed a contract with the European Investment Bank for agrisolar parks, energy storage units and the production and storage of green hydrogen.

Turceni town hall secures municipal land for green energy projects

The project is worth a whopping EUR 380 million, Mayor Constantin Popescu revealed. Turceni and its administrative area have fewer than seven thousand inhabitants.

More than 123 hectares of municipal land (pastures) and more than 200 hectares of private land were designated for the renewable energy hub, the mayor stressed.

Bankwatch: The coal region is transitioning to a future based on innovation, sustainability and strong partnerships

Partners in the project are Bankwatch Romania and GAL Sudul Gorjului, the so-called local action group for southern Gorj. Bankwatch said over 370 hectares would be switched to clean and sustainable energy production.

“We are glad that we had an important role in developing the project plan and aligning it with European environmental policies, as well as in applying for technical assistance. For a region that has been, for decades, a pillar of coal-fired energy, this project marks a strategic transformation: a transition to a future based on innovation, sustainability and strong partnerships,” the organization added.

Investments to start in 2026

Implementation is scheduled to begin next year. The project will contribute to a just transition of the region by increasing the production of electricity from renewable energy sources, Popescu asserted. In his words, it will be complementary to the local authority’s other ongoing and future decarbonization investments.

The mayor also highlighted the plans to use geothermal energy for district heating and agriculture.

Complexul Energetic Turceni is part of state-owned Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CE Oltenia). According to the company’s restructuring and decarbonization plan, the coal business will be separated from green energy and other investments.

They include projects for CCGT (combined-cycle gas turbine) power plants of 475 MW in Turceni and 800 MW in nearby Ișalnița, as the main replacement for coal plants. Both are suffering heavy delays.

Minister of Energy Bogdan Ivan said last week that CE Oltenia’s Ișalnița coal plant in neighboring Dolj county would be closed on January 1. Romania has asked the European Commission to delay the closure of several coal plant units, scheduled for this year, until 2030.

Earlier this year, a joint venture between CE Oltenia and OMV Petrom hired contractors for four solar power plants at former coal land, with a combined capacity of about 550 MW. One of the sites is in Ișalnița.

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September 23, 2025
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Romania risks blackouts if it shuts coal plants as scheduled

Minister of Energy Bogdan Ivan claims that energy poverty or even blackouts could hit Romania if it proceeds with the closure of coal plants. Namely, the gas power projects for replacing them are suffering severe delays.

The European Commission has become flexible for the first time in the last four years, said Romania’s Minister of Energy Bogdan-Gruia Ivan. He has asked for a postponement of the deadline for shutting down a group of coal power plants.

They need to be closed by the end of the year. If the coal plants, run by state-owned Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CE Oltenia) go before gas power plants Iernut and Mintia are commissioned, Romania is jeopardized, according to the minister.

Ivan told Digi24.ro he was negotiating with the European Commission on delaying the closure by “a few months.” Romgaz decided last week to cancel the contract with Duro Felguera, the contractor for the Iernut facility.

Energy poverty risk increasing

A study conducted with Romania’s transmission system operator Transelectrica has shown that Romania can otherwise end up in energy poverty and even risk a blackout, he underscored. “Especially in the winter, when we have no solar, when we have no wind power,” Minister Ivan explained.

Furthermore, Romania would like to keep three large coal units and another two in technical reserve for replacement them in case of damage, Ivan revealed. It would ensure a 1 GW minimum coal power supply, he asserted.

Romania requires at least 1 GW in baseload energy from coal for two more years, according to Minister Bogdan Ivan

Simulations showed that the group would need to operate for two years more, at least, until Iernut and Mintia are completed.

“We are pressed for time. We need to conclude contracts for next year. We need to conclude contracts for energy supply, contracts with suppliers, coal stocks. It is a complex of factors that must be organized very well from now on. It is already late, for Romania and for our energy companies,” Ivan stated.

Gas power projects in constant delay

Additionally, gas power plants Turceni (475 MW) and Ișalnița (850 MW) are supposed to replace some of the capacity in the Oltenia complex. The two projects suffered constant delays. The deadlines in the tenders for construction have been pushed back to September 30 and November 14, respectively.

Romania has received billions of euros from the European Union for gas power plants to substitute coal, the minister noted separately. He acknowledged that the projects are still on paper. That’s why today Romanians have almost the highest electricity price in Europe, Ivan claimed.

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