Pumped storage hydro power plant project Tarniţa Lapustesti, with a capacity of 1000 MW, green-field investment estimated at around one billion euros, started its project cycle with the notice of initiation of selection of international investors informed Tarniţa SA Water the company which manages the project.
The plant will be located 30 km from Cluj-Napoca, Warm Somes river valley on the left side of accumulation Tarniţa and is expected to have four groups of reversible pump-turbines with an installed capacity of 4x 250 MW. The construction is planned to be carried out in two stages over a period of 5-7 years.
Having a central pumping storage will ensure increased reliability of the power system. Lake superior capacity will be 10 million cubic meters of water. Over 4,000 jobs will be created during construction. In this context, HPP Tarniţa Lapustesti is a priority project of national interest for Romania, given the ancillary services and balancing that will provide to national energy system, allowing Romania to meet European commitments and strategic objectives stated the company.
The project is essential in the context of a growing portfolio which requires the installation of additional balancing capabilities, which will be remunerated on ancillary services markets, capacity markets, but also on the balancing market, and having the essential role that HPP will have to participate in frequency-power setting required with the entry into operation of units 3 and 4 of Cernavoda NPP.
In this context, the construction of hydroelectric pumped storage Tarniţa Lapustesti is a priority for the short and medium term strategy of the Romanian energy sector development for 2007-2020, approved by Government Decision no. 1069/2007 ‘.
Government approved the Memorandum in 2013 on the needed investment for the hydroelectric pumped storage Tarn-Lăpuşteşti through Tarniţa Hydro project company, which will participate in the capital of energy companies, with fully majority owned State or County Energy Complex, , Nuclearelectrica and Oltenia Energy Complex with selected investors in accordance with the law on the formation of joint ventures.