DTEK Reaches 299 MW in Romania as Its 126 MW Văcărești Solar Park Goes Live Near Bucharest
DTEK's renewables arm DRI brought its 126 MWp Văcărești solar park into operation and refinanced its Ruginoasa wind farm with €50.6 million.
Ukraine’s largest private energy group now runs four power plants in Romania, and it has just refinanced one of them. DRI, DTEK’s EU renewables arm, started commercial operation of its 126 MWp Văcărești solar park in Dâmbovița County in May 2026, lifting its Romanian portfolio to 299 MW. In September it closed a €50.6 million refinancing for its Ruginoasa wind farm.
The Romanian portfolio
- Ruginoasa wind, Iași County: 60 MW, 10 Vestas V162 turbines, the first new wind farm completed in Romania in more than a decade.
- Glodeni I solar, Mureș County: 53 MWp, grid-connected in January 2024.
- Glodeni II solar, Mureș County: 60 MWp, operating since December 2024.
- Văcărești solar, Dâmbovița County: 126 MWp, completed in December 2025, commercial operation from May 2026.
Total: about 299 MW, three solar parks and one wind farm, built or acquired in roughly three years.
The fresh hook: capital is flowing
- Ruginoasa refinancing (Sep 2026): a €50.6 million senior facility for project company Moldova Eolian, provided by Austria’s Kommunalkredit, with Wolf Theiss advising DRI. The aim is a stronger long-term capital structure and more room to fund new projects.
- Văcărești construction finance: non-recourse loans of up to €60 million from UniCredit and Garanti BBVA, DRI’s first internationally syndicated, certified green and multi-currency loan.
Together, these deals show international lenders are now comfortable with a Ukrainian-owned IPP holding long-term Romanian assets.
“We remain committed to further expanding our presence in Romania.” Murat Cinar, CEO, DRI
The offtake, in one paragraph
From January 2027, OMV Petrom will buy 50% of Văcărești’s output under what DRI calls the largest physical solar PPA signed in Romania. The other half stays exposed to the market, a mix that secures debt service while keeping upside from price spikes.
Why DTEK is building its EU platform in Romania
- Proximity and resilience: Romania borders Ukraine and offers DTEK a stable EU base for capital, assets and know-how while its home market operates under war conditions.
- A balanced resource mix: Romanian solar is strong and fast to build; wind in the north-east produces more in winter and at night, smoothing the portfolio’s profile.
- Bankability: with corporate PPAs, green loans and western lenders on board, Romanian assets give DRI a financing track record it can reuse in Poland, Italy and Croatia, its other priority markets.
Momentum Energy’s View
DTEK’s Romanian strategy shows how a foreign IPP builds scale here without one mega-project. What stands out for investors and developers:
- Portfolio over projects. Four mid-sized assets across three counties spread grid, weather and permitting risk better than one large site.
- Solar plus wind is the value play. Foreign IPPs increasingly pair cheap daytime solar with wind to reduce cannibalisation, and storage is the logical next step.
- Refinancing frees capital for growth. Expect DRI’s next Romanian move to be announced soon, either a new build or an acquisition from a developer seeking an exit.
