The new Mintia thermal power plant, built in three years. The 1.7 GW investment brings almost 1,000 jobs
Almost 1,000 people work on the construction site of the new thermal power plant at Mintia, built in Hunedoara county, after the closure of the former coal-fired power plant. In 2026, five years after the closure of the former thermal power plant, the new complex will produce energy.
Mindia thermal power plant. Photo: Daniel Guță. TRUTH
Started in 2024, the works on the new Mintia thermal power plant have reached the final phase, and the energy complex, designed with a capacity of 1.7 GW, could go into production in the summer of 2026.
Almost 1,000 workers on site
Until now, the most important installations have been installed, and the new constructions erected on the land of the old thermal power plant have changed its appearance.
The new owners did not give up the main body of the former thermal power plant, built in the 60s, and its three towers, 220 meters high.
The investment in the construction of the energy complex, located five kilometers from Deva, in the vicinity of Vetel commune, has exceeded 1.2 billion euros to date and has brought almost 1,000 new jobs.
“We demonstrated that we respected everything we undertook and that we achieved what we promised, showing that all complexities and obstacles can be overcome. This project is very important for the stability of the energy sector in Romania, it is important for the local community and for employment opportunities. We already have around 950 workers, and very soon we will reach 1,000. We hope to go into production with the first gas turbine by June this year, and with the second, around August. Everything depends on the support of the authorities, including Transgaz and Transelectrica. Our target is to have a combined cycle by October this year.”said Shadi Abulkhair, director of Mass Global Energy.
The new thermal power plants cover the energy deficit
On Saturday, April 18, following a visit to the thermal power plant site, Bogdan Ivan, the Minister of Energy, declared that the new investment will bring lower costs for energy in Romania.
“It is an extremely important project of national interest. It inspired us to come up with new legislation in terms of electricity production, transport and storage projects in our country. The investors who came here with more than 1.2 billion euros were able to bring, as early as December 2024, the newest technology on the market in one of the largest gas-based energy production facilities in the entire European Union”said the Minister of Energy, Bogdan Ivan.
According to the Minister of Energy, with the completion of the investments at the Mintia and Iernut power plants, Romania will supplement its energy production by approximately 2,200 MW, based on gas. Also by the end of 2026, the minister adds, the entry into production of other projects is expected: 2,000 MW of photovoltaic production, 1,500 MW of storage and over 350 MW of wind energy production.
“Today we have, plus or minus, a balance deficit of 1,500 MW – that is, we import approximately this amount, but with the entry of these projects into production, by the end of the year, Romania will be able to say that it has reached the level of energy importer to the level of producing enough energy to satisfy its internal needs, which will automatically lead to a decrease in the final price, under market conditions, both for industrial consumers and for domestic consumers”. stated the minister.
“Today, we import, at peak hours, approximately 20 percent of the amount we consume in our country, but we import it at a very high price. For 20 percent of the amount of energy, we pay 40 percent of the total energy we consume in Romania. Which automatically raises the price for the final consumer. The conflict in the Middle East affects us on all levels. Beyond the fuel market, the natural gas market is also affected, because today 20 percent of Romania's electricity production is based on natural gas”said the Minister of Energy, Bogdan Ivan.
Mass Global Energy Rom will invest 1 billion euros in energy storage capacities, including at Mintia
The former “star from Mureș”
The former Mintia thermal power plant was built in the 60s on the territory of the old Daco-Roman settlement Micia, on the bank of Mureș. The initial project aimed to establish four energy groups of 210 MW each, which operated with coal from Valea Jiului, brought by railway.
Image 1/23:
Termoplanta Mindia Photo Daniel Guță THE TRUTH (2) JPG
The first energy group of the Mintia thermal power plant was inaugurated in the fall of 1969, and two years later the other three energy groups were completed. In 1977, the fifth turbine of 210 MW became functional, and from 1980 the plant was equipped with the sixth energy group. One of the groups was upgraded in 2009, reaching 235 MW.
“From its commissioning until the end of 2011, the Mintia thermal power plant delivered 204 TWh of the electricity required by Romania and consumed 117 million tons of coal”, it showed a report of the Mintia Thermal Power Plant.
The decline of the mining industry in Valea Jiului and the environmental problems of the power plant, which is over five decades old, hastened its decline, and energy production was permanently stopped in the spring of 2021. In July 2021, the last approximately 700 of its employees were laid off, and the plant ceased its activity, entering conservation.
In December 2022, the Romanian state sold it, through the judicial liquidator, for over 91 million euros, to a private investor from Mass Group Holding.
The new owners soon began an extensive re-engineering process to transform the former thermal power plant based on rudimentary technology, which used coal, into a modern energy complex with an installed capacity of over 1.7 GW, based on natural gas and state-of-the-art equipment supplied by Siemens.
The new thermal power plant, built in three years
In the summer of 2023, the demolition of several industrial buildings in the yard of the old thermal power plant began (the coal farm, the fuel farm, the oil farm, the chemical water treatment plant, the main condensate treatment plant), to make way for the new energy complex, which was then waiting for approvals to start construction.
Mintia thermal power plant, the new “Star on Mureș”, expected in 2026. The huge 1.2 billion euro construction site
Work on the new power plant began in 2024, the unit being designed to use natural gas and equipped with two gas turbines, one steam turbine and three Siemens SGen5-3000W generators. At the same time, the components of the plant will be prepared for the transition to the new energy production technologies, based on hydrogen. Completion of the works is expected this year, and with it, Mintia will become the largest gas-fired power plant in the European Union, on a single site.
Image 1/20:
Mindia Thermal Power Plant Photo Daniel Guță THE TRUTH (91) JPG
According to a recent press release from the Romanian Government, Mass Global Energy Rom has announced its intention to develop in Romania a new investment in BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) electricity storage capacities, worth approximately one billion euros.
“The project would have a total capacity of 2,500 MW, distributed in four to five locations, including Mintia. The project aims to balance the energy system and provide energy during peak hours at affordable prices for citizens.” informed the Government of Romania, on February 6.
To become operational, the new power plant must be connected to the national natural gas and electricity grid, and investments to connect it are ongoing.
