Rezolv Energy recently secured Vestas as their EPC partner for the VIFOR wind farm’s first phase and established VPPAs with several Deutsche Telekom Group companies. We discussed with Mr. Marian Pavel, Rezolv’s General Manager Romania about this project, but also about the company’s vision for sustainability and its impact on corporate strategies across Europe.
Dear Mr. Marian Pavel, could you elaborate on how these strategic choices enhance the project’s stability and predictability for future expansions?
Vestas was a natural partner for VIFOR because it is the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer and has the greatest number of MWs installed in the region. Even for Vestas, though, it’s a very big commission. VIFOR will be the first large wind farm in Central & South Eastern Europe for 10 years or so, and will be Vestas’ largest ever order in Romania. Given the scale of the project, we clearly needed an EPC partner with serious credibility and experience – which Vestas can offer like no one else.
Vestas also shares our commitment to the sustainable development of renewable energy projects, and have a track record of building projects in a responsible way. That was a very important consideration for us as well.
The three VPPAs with T-Mobile Czech Republic, Slovak Telekom and CE Colo Czech Republic were an important part of the financing package for VIFOR. They are 12-year deals, so that long-term commitment was certainly helpful in discussions with lenders about financing the project. They were also an important landmark because cross-border VPPAs like this are a new concept in this region. It has shown what is possible and is a signal to the entire region that companies do not need to wait for renewable energy capacity to start coming onstream in volume in their home market.
Those VPPAs have helped close the financing for Phase 1 of the VIFOR project and we have just broken ground at the project site. We should be in a position to announce more PPA deals in the coming weeks which will put us in an even stronger position.
With the VIFOR wind farm projected to be one of the largest onshore wind projects in Europe, what do you consider to be the most significant impacts this project will have on the energy sector in Romania and potentially in Central and Eastern Europe?
Rezolv and Actis, our single shareholder, were motivated to invest Central & South Eastern Europe because it is a region which has historically relied on fossil fuels for most of its energy needs. Replacing fossil fuel production with renewables delivers the maximum possible emissions reduction impact – an ‘emissions first’ approach which is at the heart of our business.
Romania’s energy sector is not as dirty as some other countries in the region but energy production here is still very carbon intensive. Also, air pollution – which is directly linked to energy production – remains a significant problem, so VIFOR will have tangible benefits for public health. It will help enhance Romania’s energy security as well.
Don’t forget too that VIFOR is only one of three Rezolv projects in Romania. There is also Dama Solar in Arad County which, at 1,044 MW, will be the largest solar plant anywhere in Europe once it is built, and the 600 MW Dunarea East & West Wind Farms in Constanța County. That’s over 2 GW of clean energy in total. Taken together, it’s a really significant contribution to accelerating Romania’s energy transition.
The project has secured a substantial financial loan from a diverse consortium of lenders. Can you discuss the importance of this financial structure for the project’s execution? How does this financial backing reflect on Rezolv Energy’s credibility and strength in the renewable energy market?
Rezolv has had some serious financial backing from the very start. We were established in 2022 with 500 million euro from Actis a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure. However, that isn’t enough on its own when you are talking about renewable energy projects on this scale. Financing needs to come from various sources. One important source is finance loan facilities, and a couple of weeks ago we were able to announce that we had secured up to 291 million euro to support the Phase 1 construction. This came from a consortium of eight lenders led by Erste Group, UniCredit Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Intesa Sanpaolo Group, OTP Bank, Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Garanti BBVA Romania.
Securing this support from such a prestigious group of lenders was recognition of the vital role of large-scale projects like VIFOR in Romania’s energy transition. These banks understood that utility-scale projects are needed because they are the quickest way to decarbonise the energy system. They are also proportionately cheaper and deliver the lowest cost of electricity for everyone. It was also a vote of confidence in Rezolv. Very few developers in this region have the experience to build and operate projects on this scale – and an important part of that is the ability to secure the necessary financing.
The VIFOR project will utilize EnVentus Vestas V162 turbines known for their high capacity and efficiency. How does selecting this advanced technology align with Rezolv’s commitment to leading-edge renewable solutions?
It’s really about impact. Once installed, these Vestas turbines will have the largest power output per turbine of any wind farm in Romania, thereby maximising the volume of clean power produced and the tonnes of CO2e that can be avoided.
Looking beyond the immediate project, how does the development of the VIFOR wind farm align with Rezolv Energy’s long-term vision for sustainability and its impact on corporate strategies across Europe?
VIFOR is the first of our projects to move into the construction phase so our sustainability strategy will be implemented there first. That strategy has been built on industry best practice and aligns with international standards, including the Equator Principles and the International Finance Corporation’s Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability.
In terms of corporate strategies, it’s important to point out that the construction work that has just started in Buzău is only Phase 1 of the project. This will install 192 MW in capacity with planned expansion to 461 MW in Phase 2. Phase 2 will make a further 700 GWh of electricity available per year. That’s exciting because it means that, through VIFOR and our other projects, the widespread and fast growing corporate demand for competitive-priced clean power can be met now. That will have a fundamental impact on corporate strategies – both in Romania and beyond.