Romania’s 1.7 GW Mintia gas-fired power project has reached a major commissioning milestone with the first turbine ignition, bringing one of Southeast Europe’s largest new thermal generation investments closer to commercial operation. The development comes as Romania faces nuclear outages, elevated electricity imports and sharp evening price spikes.
The first gas turbine was fired on October 8 at the former Mintia coal-fired power station, marking a significant technical step for the project developed by Mass Global Energy Rom. The private investment exceeds €1.2 billion and is expected to significantly strengthen Romania’s domestic generation capacity once fully operational.
The project will initially deploy two gas turbines with a combined capacity of approximately 1.1 GW. Once the combined-cycle configuration is completed, the plant is designed to reach around 1.7 GW of generation capacity, making it one of the largest modern gas-fired power facilities in the region.
The first ignition, however, does not mean that Mintia is already commercially operational. The project must still undergo further testing, grid synchronisation and initial electricity deliveries before its generation capacity becomes available to the market.
The timing of the commissioning milestone is particularly important for Romania’s electricity system. Both Cernavodă nuclear reactors remain unavailable, removing approximately 1.36 GW of firm generation capacity and increasing the country’s dependence on electricity imports.
Romanian day-ahead electricity prices have repeatedly exceeded €200/MWh, while evening prices have climbed above €300/MWh during periods of tight supply. Once operational, Mintia could help reduce this exposure by providing flexible domestic generation during periods of high demand or weaker renewable output.
The plant’s dispatchable capacity will allow it to respond to demand peaks and compensate for fluctuations in wind, solar and hydropower generation. Its combined-cycle design should also provide greater efficiency than many of Romania’s older gas-fired and coal-fired units.
For Romania, the project therefore represents an important step away from dependence on ageing thermal assets and imported electricity towards modern, flexible domestic generation capacity.
Mintia will also create substantial additional demand for natural gas, making the availability and cost of domestic gas increasingly important to the project’s long-term economics. Romania’s Neptun Deep Black Sea gas project, which is expected to begin production in 2027, could play an important role in meeting part of this additional demand.
The combination of new domestic gas production and modern gas-fired generation could strengthen Romania’s energy security and reduce its exposure to regional electricity imports. However, the commercial performance of Mintia will depend on several factors, including gas prices, carbon costs, plant efficiency and the number of hours during which electricity prices justify operation.
The plant is entering a power market increasingly shaped by low-cost solar generation during the middle of the day and significantly higher prices during evening periods. This makes flexibility and the ability to respond quickly to market conditions more important than continuous baseload operation.
Mintia has not yet started commercial electricity generation, but the first turbine ignition brings Romania closer to adding a major new source of firm and flexible capacity. Once fully operational, the plant could materially influence Romania’s electricity balance and regional power prices, particularly during periods of tight supply.
