Bulgarian automotive supplier Etem Gestamp will purchase renewable energy from a major wind project in Romania, after signing a long-term agreement with Rezolv Energy. The deal centers on the VIFOR wind farm in Buzău County, one of the largest onshore wind projects in Europe.
The companies have signed a 10-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA), under which Etem Gestamp will secure electricity from the 461 MW VIFOR facility, currently nearing completion. The agreement marks the first publicly announced cross-border wind power deal involving Bulgaria.
The energy will be used to support Etem Gestamp’s industrial operations, helping the company reduce its carbon footprint and move toward a more sustainable production model. By 2027, the company expects around 70% of its energy mix to come from renewable sources.
“The VPPA enables us to secure price stability while significantly reducing the carbon footprint of our operations in Bulgaria,” said Nikolay Stoynov, Business Services Director, Etem Gestamp.
The deal is Rezolv Energy’s seventh PPA in Romania and Bulgaria, and the second with a company from the automotive sector. In 2024, the company signed a 10-year VPPA with Bekaert, a global leader in steel wire transformation and coating technologies with a substantial business in the automotive industry. The deal will see Bekaert buy 100 GWh of power per year from the VIFOR wind farm, one of the largest PPAs ever signed in Southeastern Europe.
Rezolv Energy has also signed PPAs with T-Mobile Czech Republic, Slovak Telekom, and Ardagh Glass Packaging-Europe.
Once fully operational, VIFOR will be one of Europe’s largest onshore wind farms. Close to the Carpathian Mountains, the project will generate enough clean energy to power more than 270,000 homes and will avoid approximately 540,000 tonnes of CO2e annually, the developer said.
Sofia-based Etem Gestamp is an international manufacturer of aluminium extrusions and components for the automotive industry. Established in 2019 as a joint venture between the Viohalco Group and the Spanish automotive supplier Gestamp, the company focuses on the extrusion and processing of aluminium profiles for use in vehicle structures and other industrial applications.
Launched in 2022 by Actis, Rezolv Energy has a 2.3GW portfolio of large-scale wind farms and solar parks in Romania and Bulgaria.
Besides the VIFOR wind farm, one of Rezolv Energy’s projects in Romania is Dama Solar in Arad County. With a capacity of 1,044MW, it is expected to be the largest solar park anywhere in Europe once it is operational.
In Bulgaria, the portfolio includes St. George, a 225MW solar project which is currently being built on a brownfield site: the former Silistra airport, a decommissioned airfield covering 165 hectares. Comprising nearly 400,000 photovoltaic panels, St. George will be one of the largest solar projects in Bulgaria once it comes onstream in H1 2026.
irina.marica@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: press release)
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