Hidrocentrala Tarnița-Lăpuștești de 1.000 MW, gândită pe timpul lui Ceaușescu, ia din nou startul.

Hidroelectrica shareholders today approved the establishment of a joint venture with French energy giant EdF for the development of the Tarnișa-Lăpuștești pumped storage hydropower plant, a project that is over half a century old. The hydropower plant needs a support scheme.

Here is the decision of Hidroelectrica shareholders:

The Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders approves:

(i) The establishment by SPEEH Hidroelectrica SA together with EDF power solutions International of a joint venture/joint venture company (Joint Venture Company – JVC) in equal shares of 50% – 50% each;

(ii) Shareholders Agreement (SHA) to be concluded by SPEEH Hidroelectrica SA with EDF power solutions International, defining the terms and conditions regarding the operation of a company (joint venture/partnership (JVC)) to be established by the parties for the development of the Tarnița Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant (CHEAP) – Proposed Investment/Opportunity.

In a first phase, the project company will collect site data (lower reservoir + possible upper reservoirs), will make an initial assessment of the land and will prepare a pre-feasibility study, either internally or by contracting an external consultant. The budget of this first phase is 400,000 euros, supported in equal shares by Hidroelectrica and EdF Power Solutions.
EdF requested a support scheme for the Tarnița project

“In the event that the parties decide to move forward The Project in Phase 2, compared to the current provisions of the SHA (shareholders’ agreement – ed.), the parties will mutually adjust the necessary chapters (control, avoidance of possible blockages events of default, possible exit decisions) to develop specific mechanisms that reflect the maturity of the project and the substantial level of CAPEX that will be required in Phase 2.

In addition, EDF requested the adoption of a regulatory framework for the implementation of a support income scheme related to the Project (capacity reservation, CfD, feed-in tariff) to justify the decision to continue the Project”, says Hidroelectrica.

A possible final investment decision (FID) will be taken only after the urgency notice for these investments is obtained (possibly not the case) and, especially after “the satisfactory result of the Parties’ analysis of the legislation relating to public and sectoral procurement in Romania with regard to the possible constraints of these normative acts and the way in which these provisions apply to the Project”.
How was it reached association with EdF in the Tarnița project

In 2023, the Societatea de Administrate a Participațiilor în Energie S.A. (SAPE) took steps to relaunch the development of the Tarnița pumped storage hydropower project, which would have significantly contributed to the stabilization of the national electricity grid, especially in the context of the integration of renewable sources.

A first tender for the update of the feasibility study was organized in the fall of 2023, but was canceled because no bidder submitted a compliant offer. In January 2024 In January 2024, SAPE launched a new procurement procedure for the same feasibility study, but this also did not have any results.

In November 2024, the Ministry of Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Itochu Corporation for the development of the Tarnița-Lăpuștești investment, as an alternative plan for starting the update of the feasibility studies.

Japanese giant Itochu and its international division of the French group EdF contacted Hidroelectrica with a proposal for a tripartite memorandum of understanding, expressing their interest in evaluating the most efficient ways of approaching, namely to participate in all the stages necessary for the implementation of the Tarnița project – from the feasibility study, to the design and execution. Subsequently, the discussions were held only with EdF representatives.

In the framework of new discussions with the Ministry of Energy, EdF and Hidroelectrica expressed their mutual interest in being developers and co-investors in the CHEAP Tarnița Project.