Romanian and Bulgarian Energy Ministers Virgil Popescu and Rossen Hristov have agreed to resume talks on joint development of the project for the 840 MW hydropower plant Turnu Magurele – Nikopol on the Danube.
The first studies for this hydropower plant were done in the 1960s. CEO of Romanian electricity producer Hidroelectrica Bogdan Badea said earlier that the project would be beneficial for Romania and that the company is ready to participate, but reminded that the project has to be developed in cooperation with Bulgaria.
HPP Turnu Magurele – Nikopol, which would be equally shared between the two countries, has an estimated annual electricity generation of 4.4 TWh. The project envisages the construction of two hydropower plants, identical in terms of equipment and power, one belonging to Romania on the left bank of the Danube and the other to Bulgaria on the right bank.
Two sites were proposed for the future hydropower complex. for the first site, the total investment of the Romanian side would be 2.57 billion euros (according to estimates dating four years ago), of which 1.53 billion euros for the power plant itself. The second location would be cheaper to build, but the hydropower plant placed there would have lower installed capacity – 420 MW with estimated annual electricity generation of 1.94 TWh. The total cost for the Romanian side at this site would be around 2.1 billion euros.
Regardless of the chosen location, the proposed duration for the construction of this hydropower complex is eight years.
