The Satu Mare 3 project and what its structure reveals
Electrica has contracted the construction of the Satu Mare 3 solar PV park — 62.5 MWp, located near Doba, Satu Mare County — through an EPC contract with New Trend Energy SRL, a wholly owned subsidiary of the group. The contract is worth approximately EUR 27.9 million excluding VAT and covers design, equipment procurement, execution, the 110 kV transformer substation and three years of operation and maintenance following commissioning. The project is financed through green bonds issued by Electrica in 2025. The resulting specific cost — around EUR 447/kWp — is a real benchmark for a utility-scale ground-mount system in Romania in 2025-2026.
The EPC self-delivery model and its logic
The fact that New Trend Energy SRL is a subsidiary of the Electrica Group turns the transaction from a classic works contract into an EPC self-delivery model: the beneficiary and the contractor belong to the same legal entity. The model eliminates external contractor risk (insolvency, contractual disputes), but it requires the subsidiary to possess the technical competence and certified resources for a project of this class. Full control of the decision chain allows rapid adjustments without negotiating with a third party.
Including three years of operation and maintenance within the same contract is an essential bankability element: it guarantees lenders that the asset will be operated professionally after commissioning, reducing the risk of premature degradation and ensuring the traceability of production data for ESG reporting.
Financing through green bonds: the link between instrument and asset
Green bonds issued by Electrica require funds to be allocated exclusively to eligible green projects, in accordance with an externally audited framework. This direct link between the instrument and the physical asset mandates periodic reporting on energy production, emissions reduction and the plant's technical performance throughout the life of the bond.
Estimated output and the outlook for the 1 GW target
Satu Mare County records a global horizontal irradiance (GHI) of around 1,300-1,380 kWh/m²/year. At a Performance Ratio of 78%, the plant will generate approximately 63-68 GWh annually — enough for the consumption of around 18,000-22,000 households. In the context of the Electrica Group's 1 GW target, the project represents about 6% of the objective. Reaching it fully by 2030 implies a construction pace equivalent to 14-16 similar projects in four years.