Romanians to add large battery to Djerdap 2 hydropower plant – Serbia to develop different solution for energy storage on right bank of Danube

Romanian state-owned power company Hidroelectrica plans to install a 64-megawatt battery system next to the Djerdap 2 hydropower plant within two years. It will be able to store up to 256 megawatt-hours of electricity. Serbia and Romania jointly built both hydropower plants in the Djerdap system and each owns half of the capacity. Serbia is also planning a pumped-storage hydropower plant, Djerdap 3, upstream.

Hidroelectrica, Romania’s largest electricity producer, mainly operates hydropower plants, but is increasingly turning to other green technologies. For example, it will build its first floating solar power plant and install photovoltaic panels on the facilities of 20 hydropower plants, Igor Todorovic writes for Balkan Green Energy News.

The state-owned power company, in addition to installing a battery at its only wind farm, is holding a tender for a large energy storage facility on the left bank of the Danube at the Portile de Fier 2 hydroelectric power plant. Hidroelectrica is accepting bids until August 28.

It has estimated the cost of hiring a contractor at 309.7 million lei (61.2 million euros) excluding value-added tax. The task involves designing, manufacturing, installing, testing and commissioning a battery energy storage system (BESS). The selected company will also have to integrate the new facility with the hydroelectric power plant.

The required operating capacity is 64 megawatts, with a four-hour duration, Romanian media report. This means the battery system will be able to store at least 256 megawatt-hours of electricity. Hidroelectrica plans to use it to provide balancing services to the national electricity system. In the documentation, it revealed that it would adjust the hydroelectric power plant’s operating time intervals.

Hidroelectrica will be able to store part of the energy produced by the aforementioned run-of-river hydroelectric power plant on the Danube when the water level is high. The battery would then feed electricity into the grid when needed, or when the price is more favorable.

Investment partly covered by EU grant

The contractor will also be responsible for connecting to the high-voltage grid and installing a 0.4/20 kilovolt transformer station. The company expects to award the contract before the end of autumn, and the deadline for completing the works is 23 months. The project is financed by the European Union”s Modernization Fund and its own funds.

Portile de Fier 2 is the Romanian name for Djerdap 2, which was put into operation in 1985. It is part of a hydroelectric complex jointly built by Serbia and Romania on the Danube. In English, Djerdap is called Iron Gate.

The two countries, specifically the Serbian Electric Power Company (Elektroprivreda Srbije - EPS) and Hidroelectrica, have divided the capacities of both systems. Each holds ten units in Djerdap 2. It is the second largest hydroelectric power plant in both countries, while Djerdap 1 is the largest.

Djerdap 2 in Serbia has a nominal capacity of 270 megawatts, and EPS plans to modernize and strengthen it. The hydroelectric power plant is located near Prahovo.

The battery will be next to the dam on the other side of the river, in the territory of the Gogoșu commune in the Mehedinti County. The capacity of the Romanian part of the Djerdap 2 hydroelectric power plant is 252 megawatts. Hidroelectrica is preparing to return to the grid Unit 1, of 31 megawatts, which has been waiting for reconstruction for over a decade.

This electric power company is also interested in taking over a 250 megawatt wind farm project and four solar power plants, with a total capacity of 270 megawatts.

Serbia developing different solution for energy storage on right bank of Danube

As a reminder, Serbia and EPS are preparing a project for the Djerdap 3 reversible hydroelectric power plant. The location is near Donji Milanovac.

Last year, Romania expressed concern about the consequences for production at the Djerdap 1 and 2 hydroelectric power plants, since the new plant would be upstream. The government in Bucharest had also previously signaled its interest in participating in the investment.

Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic recently stated, after talks with Romanian Energy Minister Bodan-Gruia Ivan, that they had agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding for Djerdap 3 as soon as possible.

The project can improve the stability of electricity systems, facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources into the regional energy grid and provide solutions for seasonal electricity storage, in the interests of both parties, she said.

Hidroelectrica

Đerdap 2

Đerdap 3

battery system