Lukerg buys 84MW in Romania

ROMANIA: Lukerg Renew, a joint venture between Russia's Lukoil and Italian energy group ERG, has acquired an 84MW wind project in Romania from Italian renewable developer Inergia.

While financial details of the acquisition were not released, Lukerg expects to invest about €135 million in the project, which is located in the Tulcea region.

Lukerg plans to begin construction of the wind farm in the first quarter of 2013 and commercial operations in the first half of 2014.

The joint venture plans to finance the project on a long-term non-recourse project financing basis with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is currently conducting due diligence on the project.

Investors have continued piling into the Romania market, which boasts strong wind resources and is  offering an attractive incentive scheme for the next few years. Installed wind capacity has soared to roughly 1.8GW from 982MW at the end of last year.

For Lukerg, the Romanian deal represents its second acquisition. Earlier this year, it acquired a 40MW operational wind farm in Bulgaria from Raiffeisen Energy & Environment, a subsidiary of the Austrian Raiffeisen banking group.