Romania’s Energy Minister announced on Tuesday (31 October) the launch of a procurement procedure for works (design and turnkey execution) related to the Tarnița – Lăpuștești hydroelectric plant with pumped storage.
“Romania had the duty to do this project for at least 40 years. I am announcing that the Tarnița-Lăpușteşti hydropower plant project, starting today, is present in the SICAP [procurement platform], thus officially launching the process of acquiring the designer who will prepare the feasibility study. It is an honoured promise of my mandate. We are talking about a pumped storage production capacity with an installed capacity of up to 1,000 MWh [megawatt hours],” said Minister Burduja.
The cost of the feasibility study is estimated at three and a half million euros, with the study lasting a maximum of 12 months. “I want to have the feasibility study ready by next fall. I rely on the involvement of serious, experienced bidders, which will also bear fruit on all the other studies carried out so far, to the extent that they are still valid,” the minister noted.
“This pumped storage hydropower plant solves several problems, mainly the need to balance the energy system. For everyone to understand: we have two lakes, in Lăpusteşti and Tarnița, one located higher than the other. When we need production in the system, the water from the upper lake passes through the turbines and produces electricity. When we have surplus production, we turn on the pumps in the lower lake and, basically, we raise the water back into the upper lake. It’s like a big green battery,” the minister added.
The minister also said that based on the feasibility study, Romania’s state energy fund Shareholdings Administration Association SAPE will “competitively and transparently” identify private partners for a project company. “My vision is for the state to remain a minority in this project, and for the private sector to guarantee both the necessary capital and the continuity of this strategic and complex project, which will be able to be completed in a period of 8-10 years, based on estimates experts. We will have all the data through the feasibility study. The time for this project has come — better late than never,” he added.
