Portland Trust Sold the Largest PV Project in Romania to Econergy and Nofar Energy
Econergy completed the acquisition from Portland Trust of a ready-to-build 155MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Arges County (central-southern part of Romania) with Nofar Energy. The 155MW project will be the largest solar plant in Romania.
The total investment in the Ratesti solar project will be EUR 100m. Econergy and Nofar Energy acquire a 50% stake each in the project from Portland Trust. Econergy will also provide the management services, including EPC and O&M negotiations, construction management and PPA and project finance management. Once operational, Econergy shall also provide a long-term Asset Management service.
The new solar project in Romania forms part of Econergy’s 1.5 GW solar pipeline under development in the country and part of the company’s wider 6 GW pipeline across Europe, which includes the UK, Italy, Spain and Poland.
The project has received all its required permits and construction is due to start in Q4 2021, with commercial operations expected to begin in Q4 2022.
Upon completion the project is expected to provide power for up to 100,000 homes and will mitigate 168,000 tonnes of CO2, further supporting Romania’s decarbonisation target of securing over 30% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030.
“Econergy are pleased to be leading the development and construction of the largest solar PV project in Romania. Solar is a core technology for Econergy and will form a key part of our strategy to develop renewable energy projects across Europe in the coming months. Romania represents a key target geography for Econergy, and this acquisition builds on our reputation as a leading developer in the Romanian solar market with strong local development, management, and engineering specialisms.
Part of our forward-looking strategy will involve continuing to invest in clean energy projects in markets such as Romania where changes to the regulations allow the industry to expand via PPAs, diversification of services to the grid and the introduction of other renewable energy technologies,” Econergy Chief Executive Eyal Podhorzer said.
Background
The photovoltaic park has an authorised capacity of 153 MW currently under development, and is located in Arges County, Romania. The project is assumed to reach operational start early 2023.
Econergy and Nofar acquired the photovoltaic park from Portland Trust. Acting as adviser of Econergy, Vlasceanu, Nyerges and Partners (VNP) coordinated the Closing documents. Schoenherr Romania advised Nofar Energy.
“We are honoured to be once more Econergy’s legal advisor for their investments in Romania. The complexity of this transaction derives primarily from the necessity to align the multiple commercial interests of the involved parties to the highly regulated Romanian environment. The project will support Romania in reaching its 30.7% E-RES target by 2030 (to be increased) and will encourage foreign investments in Romanian PV sector”, said Daniel Vlăsceanu, Managing Partner of Vlăsceanu, Nyerges & Partners. VNP’s legal team was led by Daniel Vlăsceanu (Managing Partner) and included Raluca Spinu (Managing Associate), Mihaela Farin (Senior Associate) and Adina Popescu (Associate).
“We are delighted to have advised Nofar Energy on the acquisition of what will be the largest photovoltaic project in Romania,” said Schoenherr Romania partner Monica Cojocaru, who led the team advising on the project. “This transaction reconfirms international investors’ trust in the long-term potential of the Romanian renewables market, even though governmental support is still lagging behind,” she added.
About Nofar Energy
Nofar Energy is an international renewables company based in Israel, with renewables projects in Israel, Spain, Italy, the United States and now also Romania. Nofar Energy owns, develops, constructs, and operates photovoltaic systems, mainly in the dual segment (rooftop solar projects and floating solar projects), in addition to ground mounted photovoltaic projects and battery storage. Nofar Energy in-house technical capabilities to develop and execute renewables projects, are leveraged to achieve operating flexibility and other benefits in this segment, which features surplus yield projects.
About Econergy
Econergy is an international IPP (independent power producer) of utility-scale renewable energy projects. It develops, owns, and operates utility-scale renewable energy projects driven by deep industry, regulatory and technology expertise at every critical stage from origination to supply.
