The 460.8MW Vifor wind farm project is located in Buzau County in south-east Romania. It is poised to become Romania’s second-largest wind farm.
The project is owned by First Look Solutions, a special-purpose vehicle, jointly owned by Rezolv Energy, an independent renewable energy producer, and Low Carbon, a renewable energy investment company.
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The clean energy generated from the project will be sufficient to power upwards of 270,000 homes, simultaneously offsetting around 540,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
The wind farm is estimated to have an operational life of up to 35 years and will significantly contribute to Romania’s 2030 EU renewable energy targets.
Location
The Vifor wind farm, comprising five subprojects, is situated within the administrative boundaries of Costeşti, Gheraseni, Smeeni, Luciu, and Ţinteşti communes in Buzau County, south-east Romania.
The wind farm’s substation area, considered the central hub, is approximately 85km north-east of the Bucharest outskirts.
The north-western extremity of the wind farm lies roughly 6km from the Buzau city outskirts.
The total area covered by the wind farm spans 2,777ha, out of which 147.8ha will be impacted by construction, with permanent facilities occupying an additional 44.5ha.
Vifor wind farm details
The Vifor wind farm will incorporate a total of 72 EnVentus V162 wind turbine generators (WTGs), each with a capacity of 6.4MW.
The turbines will feature a three-bladed rotor with a diameter of 162m, and a rotor swept area of 20,612m². The turbines will be perched atop 166m-tall hubs.
All WTGs across the project area are intended to be interconnected via underground cable lines to a single transformer station.
A 1.4km overhead transmission line with a 400kV capacity will carry the electricity from the transformer to the national grid.
The wind farm will utilise a network of existing agricultural roads and newly constructed access roads. Underground cable lines will be installed along these roads.
Development phases
The implementation of the project is structured into two distinct phases.
The 192MW phase one will see the installation of 30 WTGs and is set for commissioning by the end of 2025.
The subsequent phase will include the installation of an additional 42 wind turbines, cumulatively generating 269MW, with commissioning expected in late 2026.
The wind farm’s development is segmented into five subprojects, each defined by its geographical location.
The Costeşti wind farm, located within the Costeşti commune, will consist of seven wind turbines with a total capacity of 44.8MW.
The Gheraseni wind farm in the Gheraseni commune will also feature seven turbines with a total capacity of 44.8MW.
The Smeeni commune will host the Smeeni wind farm, equipped with 21 turbines and a combined capacity of 134.4MW.
The Luciu Wind Farm, in the Luciu commune, will be home to 30 turbines, yielding a total of 192MW.
Lastly, the Ţinteşti subproject will include seven turbines, resulting in a total capacity of 44.8MW.
Grid connection details
The project includes the construction of the central power collection substation within the Pogoanele subproject in Luciu commune, under the ownership of the Pogoanele Town Local Council.
The substation will step up the electric power generated by the wind turbines from 33kV to 400kV, facilitating its transfer to the grid.
Electricity generated from all subprojects will be conveyed to the collection substation via 33kV underground cable lines, which avoids the need to install intermediate transformer stations, thereby minimising the project’s environmental footprint.
Project financing
Rezolv Energy and Low Carbon have secured financing facilities amounting to €291m ($313m) to support the construction of the Vifor wind farm’s phase one.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing a €32m loan for the first phase of the project.
Contractors involved
Vestas, a renewable wind energy and turbine manufacturing company, will develop the project under a turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction contract.
Vestas will supply the wind turbines and provide operations and maintenance services for the initial 15 years of operation.
Rezolv will take over the operations after this period while Vestas will continue to provide maintenance services for the wind turbines under a long-term service agreement.
