• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Bankwatch

  • About us
    • Our vision
    • Who we are
    • 30 years of Bankwatch
    • Donors & finances
    • Get involved
  • What we do
    • Campaign areas
      • Beyond fossil fuels
      • Rights, democracy and development
      • Finance and biodiversity
      • Funding the energy transformation
      • Cities for People
    • Institutions we monitor
      • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
      • European Investment Bank
      • Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
      • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
      • EU funds
    • Our projects
    • Success stories
  • Publications
  • News
    • Blog posts
    • Press releases
    • Stories
    • Podcast
    • Us in the media
    • Videos
Home > Projects > Rovinari unit 7, Romania

Rovinari unit 7, Romania

CANCELLED: The Romanian Government has been negotiating for several years with the Chinese Government to build a new 600 MW unit at the lignite power plant in Rovinari, Gorj County. The new unit would be built on the site of Units 1 and 2, currently decommissioned. A new up and running plant would pollute the whole region for at least 40 more years, a coal plant’s average lifespan.


Stay informed

We closely follow international public finance and bring critical updates from the ground.





Background

In December 2012 Oltenia Energy Complex (state owned company) signed a memorandum of understanding with China Huadian Engineering Co. Ltd for setting up a project company and the construction of a 500 MW lignite-fired unit at Rovinari. The initial information was that the new unit would be built at an estimated cost of one billion euros. Since then, more memorandums of understanding have been signed between the Romanian and the Chinese company or the respective Governments, laying down the steps to create a Romanian-Chinese joint-venture, which would implement the project. The most recent one dates to September 2015, when it was reported that the unit would have an installed capacity of 600 MW and would cost EUR 847 million. The project team has met since them, the latest visit of a Chinese delegation to Rovinari taking place in August 2017.

In January 2013, the general manager of the Oltenia Energy Complex said the new unit will export the electricity to Austria and Turkey. China Huadian conducted a pre-feasibility study in 2014 for the construction of this unit at Rovinari, indicating the need to dismantle some of the existing infrastructure,  something that would increase the costs of the project and which the representatives CE Oltenia disagreed with at the time. In addition, China Huadian Engineering Co. requested customs exemptions for equipment imported from China, demanding at the same time a long term power purchase agreement or a guaranteed price for coal, which, under European legislation, may be considered illegal state aid. China Huadian would ensure the full financing of the investment, being the main shareholder of the joint venture IPP (Independent Power Producer) that would be created and CE Oltenia would have a share of under 9%.

If the project went ahead, the new unit would be located next to the town of Rovinari, increasing existing air pollution levels from the other 4 units. The lignite would be supplied from the nearby open-pit mines – Tismana I and II, Rosia, Pinoasa, all owned by the same Oltenia Energy Complex – which would require expansion of production capacity. Extending these mines would mean clearing huge land areas, in most cases accompanied by massive deforestation.

Since 2012, Bankwatch Romania has filed a series of complaints in court, requesting the annulment of illegally issued deforestation permits and mine expansion permits which did not assess impacts on the environment. Almost all the actions have been successful in court. After an infringement procedure was initiated by the European Commission, all expansions were reassessed. However, the new permits fail to evaluate the cumulative impact of the mines, and are therefore again the subject of Bankwatch Romania court action, one of them being currently suspended. To date (May 2018) no environmental impact assessment procedure has been launched.

In short:

The existing power plant:

  • Part of Oltenia Energy Complex
  • 4 units installed every 330 MW each
  • Three functional units: 3, 4 and 6; unit 5 undergoing modernisation
  • Location: southwestern Romania, Gorj county
  • Year of commissioning: 1972
  • Fuel used: lignite
  • Environmental integrated permit expired on 31.12.2017

New power plant

  •  China Huadian + CEOltenia
  • 1 unit of 600 MW
  • Fuel: lignite (6 million tonnes per year)
  • Life expectancy: 40 years
  • Significant social and environmental impacts

Latest news

Crunch time at Sostanj

Blog entry | 5 November, 2012

November is shaping up to be crunch time for a new 600 MW lignite plant planned to be built at Sostanj in Slovenia. If the Slovenian government doesn’t manage to offer a state guarantee for loans from European public banks that should cover half the construction costs by the end of this month, the project could fail. At Bankwatch, we’re preparing our popcorn for the latest Sostanj thriller, on show across Europe this month.

Read more

‘Comments noted’, business as usual continues. The marginal public influence on the EBRD’s new mining policy

Blog entry | 2 November, 2012

After long delays and more than 3 years of preparation the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has finally completed and published a policy for its operations in the mining sector. Both the consultation process and the final outcome must leave “the consulted stakeholders” disappointed.

Read more

EU’s Balkan Energy Strategy Queried

Bankwatch in the media | 23 October, 2012

Western Balkan countries face a future that relies too much on coal and nuclear power, the Green watchdog Bankwatch says .

Read more

« Previous Page
  • 1
  • ...
  • 187
  • 188
  • 189
  • 190
  • 191
  • 192
  • 193
  • ...
  • 200
Next Page »

Related publications

Comply or Close 2025: Seven years of deadly legal breaches by Western Balkan coal plants

Report | 17 June, 2025 | Download PDF

The end of 2024 marked seven years since the deadline passed for power plants in the Western Balkans to meet new air pollution standards.


Joint NGO statement on the future of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) in the post-2027 EU budget

Joint statement | 28 May, 2025 | Download PDF

This joint statement signed by 68 civil society organisations calls on the EU to ensure dedicated funds for environmental protection and just transition of coal-dependent regions in the Western Balkans


A well-designed national energy efficiency fund in North Macedonia will enable long-term energy savings in the residential and public sectors

Briefing | 20 December, 2024 | Download PDF

National energy efficiency funds are widely recognised as a highly effective mechanism for boosting investment across all sectors. However, their success depends on careful design and implementation.


  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • ...
  • 50
Next Page »

Footer

CEE Bankwatch Network gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.

The content of this website is the sole responsibility of CEE Bankwatch Network and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

Unless otherwise noted, the content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 License

Your personal data collected on the website is governed by the present Privacy Policy.

Get in touch with us

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • YouTube