Romania has signed a contract with SC Heliomit SRL to support its 1.5 GW solar PV manufacturing plant
To be located Bârlad, Vaslui county of Romania, the project has secured €32.92 million from PNRR funds
This is in addition to the Energy Ministry approving over €3.89 million for a 140 MW solar module manufacturing plant in October this year
The ministry will also support the development of 791.48 MWh energy storage capacity with PNRR funds
The Romanian Ministry of Energy has approved state aid of €32.92 million ($35.4 million) under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) for a solar panel manufacturing factory with an annual capacity of 1.5 GW.
This factory will be built by a company called SC Heliomit SRL in Bârlad, Vaslui county of Romania, according to the ministry that signed this investment contract on November 4, 2024.
This 1.5 GW plant is one among the 3 such solar PV manufacturing projects the ministry says it has approved to support investment in the entire value chain of solar cells and panels. All these 3 projects with a combined 1.779 GW/year capacity will benefit from a total aid of €47.79 million ($51.4 million).
“The billions of euros that we managed to attract for investments in new solar parks must remain in Romania as much as possible. That is why it is a great joy to be able to finance a large factory of photovoltaic panels in Bârlad, in Vaslui county, with a capacity of 1500 MW,” said Romania’s Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja. “It is the second such investment financed by the Ministry of Energy in PNRR, after the one in Sfântu Gheorghe.”
On October 18, 2024, the Energy Ministry announced signing the 1st contract for the construction of a solar PV module production factory ‘from scratch’ in Sfântu Gheorghe. SC KBK Kraft Projekt SRL won €3.89 million in PNRR state aid for its 140 MW solar module production factory.
Back then, the ministry stated, “The Ministry of Energy is promoting investment in the full value chain of photovoltaic cells and panels by financing production, assembly and recycling capabilities. The objective of the measure is to build production capacities of at least 200 MW/year.”
These projects are aimed at the revitalization of the Romanian industry, added the minister, as the ambition is not only to stop importing all this equipment from other areas but to make Romania a quality supplier for the entire European market.
Additionally, on November 4, 2024, the ministry also approved non-refundable PNRR state aid of more than €30 million ($32.25 million) for energy storage projects representing a total capacity of 791.48 MWh. Investment contracts signed include over €6 million for the Baboia Solar Plant to add 121.92 MWh storage capacity in Ogrezeni, Giurgiu county.
Support for storage projects is aimed at ensuring the country’s energy security, according to the ministry.
“Romania assumes storage as the zero priority of the national energy system, and through the contracts signed today on PNRR we will already reach 20% of the country's storage needs,” added Burduja. “The more MW we add in green, i.e. intermittent, energy production capacity, the greater the need for storage. All these investments will be seen in the coming years in lower bills for Romanians and for companies in our country.”
Under its updated National Integrated Energy and Climate Change Plan (PNIESC) 2025-2030, Romania targets to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, having brought it forward from the previous 2050 deadline. In this direction, renewables will account for 38% of the gross final energy consumption by 2030, driven by solar, wind and biomass.
In 2023, Germany’s AESOLAR proposed to launch a solar panel factory with 2 GW annual capacity, expandable to 10 GW annually, representing a 3rd of the European demand, after the European Commission granted Romania’s state aid request for €259 million to support domestic manufacturing for solar cells, panels and batteries (see 10 GW Solar Panel Manufacturing Facility In Romania).
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