Doicești-Șotânga 80 MW PV park gets commissioned

Alina Oprea

4 August, 2023 at 3:15 AM

The new Doicești - Șotânga photovoltaic park with an installed capacity of 80 MW has been commissioned. This is part of the Doicești energy complex, which will also include the first small modular reactor (SMR) plant in Europe, the second after the USA. The Doicești power complex will demonstrate the complementarity of the two clean energy sources - nuclear and renewable - and will represent not only an optimal production capacity, with the possibility to vary production but also a new vision of generation sources for the national energy system of the future.

The Doicești power complex is a sustainable solution that is already bringing back into use a large area of the ash deposits from the former Doicești coal-fired power plant by using them for the photovoltaic park. In the future, the whole site will be reused for the operation of the small modular reactor power plant, an example of the reintroduction and reuse of former coal-fired power plants for energy production, this time clean.

The new park produces green energy through more than 123,000 bifacial monocrystalline panels with a 25-year lifetime, is built on an area of more than 115 hectares, and has an installed capacity of 80 MW. The photovoltaic park is connected to the National Energy System through the two 110/20 kV transformer stations Șotânga and Doicești.

The energy produced in the photovoltaic plants will provide the necessary power for all the equipment and machinery used in the execution of the future Doicești SMR Plant, as well as the energy needed to ensure the internal services of the SMR Plant after its commissioning.

For the park site, work was carried out to stabilize the ash deposits resulting from coal mining, in compliance with the environmental protection legislation of the National Agency for Environmental Protection (NAEP). In the process, the standards for isolating the former deposits were respected, using biodegradable geotextiles and a layer of earth to prevent the ash debris from coming into contact with the environment.

As the SMR project matures, the photovoltaic park will become part of RoPower, the project company for the development of SMR technology in Romania.

"The nuclear - photovoltaic energy complex at Doicești marks another milestone in the planned path of the project which, in addition to ensuring green energy and safety in supplying the site, brings more confidence to the investors of this project", said Teofil Mureșan, CEO E-INFRA.

The site of the former Doicești thermal power plant was selected as a candidate location following preliminary studies conducted with $1.2 million in funds received from the USTDA in early 2021.

"The Doicești Energy Complex project is an example of national and international collaboration to develop a future model for clean, sustainable energy generation that offers multiple benefits for the community and the economic-industrial environment. The new energy complex will not only demonstrate the complementarity of these two clean energy sources, nuclear and photovoltaic but will also bring multiple socio-economic benefits to the area. Through access to a clean, safe, reliable, and efficient source of energy, a real industrial hub will be developed in the Doicești area, with the potential to attract new investors to the area. Romania has almost 27 years of experience in safe nuclear operation, we are ranked 1st and 3rd in terms of capacity factor out of over 440 reactors in operation globally, we have an experienced regulator and an industry ready to contribute to the development of the small modular reactor project. We have all the assets to develop a safe, efficient project that will put Romania, and therefore Doicești, on the world map of future energy projects", said Cosmin Ghiță, CEO of Nuclearelectrica SA.

RoPower Nuclear SA, a company established by Nuclearelectrica SA and Nova Power & Gas SRL, is the project company for the development of the Small Modular Reactors (SMR) project at Doicești.

RoPower combines the expertise of the two parent shareholders and aims, together with NuScale's partners, to successfully implement the Small Modular Reactors on the site of the former Doicești Thermal Power Plant, complying with the highest national and international standards and regulations.

"We are working closely with the authorities and the local community to ensure a transparent and sustainable development of the Doicești site, with the aim to transform the area into a value-added energy hub for the community. The energy produced in the photovoltaic plants will contribute, together with the energy produced by the future SMR power plant in Doicești, to the socio-economic development of the area, to the well-being of the population, as well as to the increase of Romania's energy security and the reduction of CO2 emissions", said Marius Dănilă, CEO of RoPower.