The contract for the refurbishment of the Vidraru hydropower plant was signed

The contract for the start of the renovation works of the Vidraru Hydropower Plant (AHE) was signed, yesterday, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu and the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja.

The contract, awarded by the association formed by Electromontaj, Koncar - Engineering and Butan Grup, has a value of 188.4 million euros. According to Hidroelectrica, the re-engineering will bring the latest generation technologies and innovative solutions for the modernization and optimization of the AHE Vidraru operation, contributing significantly to the stability and efficiency of the national energy network.

On the occasion of the event that marked the signing of the contract, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu declared: "I look with great confidence to the future because never, in its modern history, has Romania invested and built at a more sustained rate than now. There are tens of billions of euros of investment in everything that means critical transport, energy, health and IT infrastructures. And today's investment, in the renovation and development of the Vidraru hydropower plant, of 200 million euros (n.r. the value of the investment plus VAT), is one of the essential objectives of our energy system. This investment will allow us to modernize this masterpiece of Romanian engineering and to be able to obtain green energy in an even more efficient way in the long term".

Marcel Ciolacu added: "I am convinced that if the investment from 1966 was amortized in 28 years, today's will probably be recovered in a few years. And that makes Hidroelectrica, the most important and valuable company of the Romanian State at the moment, a first-rate energy actor in South-East Europe and, not least, in Central Europe".

According to the Prime Minister, the challenges we currently face are unprecedented. "In addition to the war in Ukraine and the crises it caused, climate change is transforming our lives, and this can be seen even these days. Increasing drought and repeated heat waves show us the huge stakes we have in how we manage our water resources. The fact that we have huge water resources does not mean that we have to waste them. And the fact that we want to protect these resources does not mean that we have to block investments that translate into cheap energy for all Romanians and especially for the economy. We must be intelligent enough to use these resources given to Romania in the long term sparingly and for the benefit of the future generation and the economic development of the country".

The Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, stated: "The upgrading of Vidraru CHPP will increase the production capacity of renewable energy and will have a positive impact on the entire national energy system. Most importantly, this investment will benefit us, all the citizens, as well as the business environment in Romania, through access to safe energy, at a fair price and as green as possible".

According to Hidroelectrica, the objectives of the retechnology are: increasing the active power of each hydro aggregate from 55 MW to a minimum of 58.8 MW, while maintaining the maximum discharged flow of 22.5 mc/s per aggregate (respectively 90 mc/s total plant); increasing the yields of hydro aggregates and implicitly the overall yield of the arrangement; increasing performance and return on investment above the initial level; increasing the reliability, availability and safety in operation for all the equipment and installations of the Development, but also ensuring the volume and quality of the system services provided by CHE; the introduction of a system that allows centralized monitoring and command from DHA/DEN, thus realizing the prerequisites for the flexibility of monitoring the CHP operation; the preparation of the equipment and installations of Vidraru CHPP and the other objects of the development for a new operation cycle.

Karoly Borbely, CEO of Hidroelectrica, said: "The most important objective of my mandate is the development of investment projects in the core assets of the company's business, thus significantly extending the life of equipment for the production of green energy. The renovation works will last seven years, during which we aim to achieve outstanding performances. I assure you of my involvement and that of my colleagues (...). After 58 years of operation of one of the main hydroelectric plants that significantly contribute to balancing the national energy system, this project marks a new chapter of development and innovation. It is a responsibility that we take on with determination, in a time when the production of renewables brings challenges".

The Croatian ambassador to Bucharest, Marija Kapitanovic, also attended the contract signing ceremony, as a Croatian company is also involved in the re-engineering process.

According to Hidroelectrica, AHE Vidraru is one of the most emblematic hydropower objectives in our country, and the plant, with an installed power of 220 MW, plays a particularly important role for the National Energy System (SEN), because it also participates in power-frequency regulation , while providing system services. The Vidraru hydroelectric plant, put into operation on December 9, 1966, uses the hydropower potential of Argeş on a 28 km long sector, between Cumpăna and Oiesti, making use of a total water fall of 324 meters. The reservoir has a total volume of 465 million cubic meters, of which 320 million cubic meters represents the useful volume.