First tender for investment in wind and solar plants seeks to attract Moldovan investors

Moldova has launched its first bid for wind and solar energy plants as part of its efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian power.

"Opening the market to investors for renewable energy development is another important step in ensuring greater security of energy for Moldova," said Energy Minister Victor Parlicov.

The development of renewables is a step towards achieving energy independence in Moldova.

Moldova, which is one of Europe's most impoverished countries, was "in an incredibly vulnerable situation" when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. However, it worked hard to reduce the country's dependence on Russia.

He said that this included connecting Moldova's power grid to the European Network of Transmission System Operators-E (ENTSO-E), upgrading the energy infrastructure so it can receive natural gas from a variety of sources, and constructing electricity lines to improve its connection to the European Union.

Moldova's pro-western government hopes that the small agricultural economy will be able to join the EU in 2030.

According to the Energy Ministry, this tender is for wind power plants up to 105 MW and photovoltaics with a maximum of 60 MW. The winning investor gets a fixed price guarantee of 15 years for the electricity produced.

Wind and solar power are the main sources of renewable energy in Moldova. The total installed capacity of around 400 MW was reported by officials at the end the second quarter 2024.

The ministry stated that once the new power plants begin to work, the share from renewables will grow to approximately 16.6%. (Reporting and editing by Tom Balmforth, David Holmes and Olena Hartmash)

(source: Reuters)