Nofar Energy has begun supplying electricity from its 146 MW Ghimpati solar power plant in Romania’s Giurgiu county, lifting the Israeli developer’s operational solar capacity in the country to 315 MW.
The plant has been energised and is gradually increasing deliveries to the national grid. Its commissioning expands Romania’s solar base at a time when the country is seeking additional domestic generation, although the rapid growth of midday renewable output is increasing the need for storage and flexible network operation.
Nofar is installing a utility-scale battery at Ghimpati to improve energy management, reduce the loss of solar output and shift generation into more valuable hours. The storage component is particularly important in a market where solar additions are beginning to depress daytime prices while evening demand remains exposed to thermal and import costs.
Since entering Romania in 2021, Nofar has assembled a development portfolio of 849 MW of solar capacity and 2.27 GWh of battery storage. This gives the company one of the larger combined renewable and storage pipelines in the Romanian market.
In May, Nofar signed a limited notice to proceed and a procurement agreement worth approximately €80mn with an undisclosed battery supplier. The agreement covers two projects in Giurgiu county with a combined storage volume of around 860 MWh.
The larger power-rated installation will be developed at Iepuresti with 160 MW/340 MWh, providing slightly more than two hours of discharge duration. Ghimpati will host a 120 MW/520 MWh system, giving it more than four hours of storage and making it better suited to transferring solar energy into the evening demand period.
The different configurations suggest distinct commercial roles. Iepuresti can target short-duration balancing and high-power market events, while Ghimpati can provide longer energy shifting, reduce curtailment and extend solar delivery beyond daylight hours.
Romania’s storage market is likely to become increasingly valuable as more photovoltaic projects connect to the grid. The central questions will be connection rights, balancing-market access, congestion exposure and the durability of intraday price spreads.
Ghimpati’s solar commissioning provides immediate generation volume, but the battery will determine how efficiently that output can be monetised. A 120 MW/520 MWh system gives the project the flexibility to operate as a managed power asset rather than an intermittently producing solar plant.
