Japanese general trading company Itochu will participate in revising the technical documentation for the development of the Tarnita-Lapustesti pumped storage hydropower plant, but also in the following stages: feasibility study, technical design and project execution, Energy Minister Sebastian-Ioan Burduja said on Monday.

"Today we managed to take some concrete steps, beyond the very good discussions for the future. First of all, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japanese giant Itochu for the 1,000 MW pumped storage Tarnita-Lapustesti project, a large green battery with two reservoirs, a vital project for the balance of the national and even regional energy system, even more so amid the growing share of renewable energy - solar, wind. And then even more so we will need storage in batteries and pumped storage plants. It is a first step. Itochu will assist us with the revision of the technical documentation and also in the next stages: feasibility study, the technical design and the execution of the project, which will all observe the legal requirements regarding competitiveness. So, it will be an open procedure for all the companies that are willing to participate, but as we tried to restart this project, we found that in Romania we no longer have the expertise needed for a project of such complexity," Sebastian Burduja said at the end of the first day of the Romania - Japan Energy Forum taking place in Bucharest.

He also stated that power and heat company ELCEN and Panasonic are working on a joint project aimed at a complex system of photovoltaic panels, battery storage and green hydrogen production.

"The agreement between ELCEN and Panasonic will also be signed in the coming period, and I think it is a symbolic step in what we call the green transition of the energy sector. A company that has begun to modernize at an accelerated pace. Moreover, this month we will sign the three contracts for the modernization of Bucharest heat and power plants CET Sud, CET Progresul and CET Grozavesti, the ones left unrefurbished since the 60s-70s, as the Energy Ministry was successful in obtaining EUR 361,000,000 in non-refundable financing from the Modernization Fund, at the session that ended on October 22," said Burduja.

He mentioned that "a lot of other possibilities for the future" were discussed, such as the capture and storage of carbon dioxide - a strategic topic of great interest for Romgaz, but also for Conpet. According to the minister, the first state aid scheme for carbon dioxide capture and storage will be rolled out next year.

"Last but not least, the Romanian civilian nuclear program will benefit from support from the Japanese strategic partner. Moreover Japan is also involved in the Doicesti SMR project, because through the Development Bank of Japan they hold a share of NuScale, the American company. So it is a project of great interest to Japan and which they will contribute to; also, the project of Cernavoda Reactors 3 and 4 will also be able to accommodate partners from Japan. Last but not least, a potential cooperation for the production of blue ammonia was also discussed, with Romgaz as a potential partner, and there are several possibilities on the Japanese side. All this shows us that this energy forum, now at its first edition, is truly needed. The second edition will be held next year in Japan," declared Burduja. AGERPRES (RO - author: George Banciulea, editor: Nicoleta Gherasi; EN - editor: Simona Klodnischi)