Electrica announces that it has signed the contract for the development in Craiova of a new high-efficiency cogeneration plant based on natural gas internal combustion engines, which will supply thermal energy to the city’s centralized district heating system (SACET) and electricity to the National Power System.
From the design phase, the plant is conceived as a flexible unit, hydrogen-ready, and equipped with black-start capabilities. The thermal energy produced will supply Craiova’s centralized system, which currently serves approximately 53,000 households and public institutions, replacing an existing coal-based source.
For the city’s residents, the project marks the transition from an infrastructure that has reached the end of its operational lifespan to a new capacity, sized to match real heat demand and built in accordance with current European standards.
By replacing lignite as a baseload source, the project eliminates coal combustion in Craiova and significantly reduces associated emissions and local pollution, having a direct positive impact on urban air quality.
From a technical perspective, the project provides for an installed electrical capacity of approximately 82 MW and a thermal capacity of around 179 Gcal/h (approximately 208 MWt), generated through high-efficiency cogeneration, supplemented by peak load and backup thermal energy generation units.
Additionally, the plant will be equipped with a thermal energy storage capacity, allowing the decoupling of heat generation from electricity production: the engines can operate to capitalize on electricity market prices during peak hours, while the simultaneously generated heat is stored and subsequently delivered into the grid based on actual demand. This solution increases the economic efficiency of the investment and, by optimizing the thermal energy production cost, can support maintaining competitive heat tariffs within the city’s district heating system.
The engines are designed to operate on natural gas, with the capability of running on a hydrogen blend as it becomes available at an industrial scale. The investment thus possesses a clear long-term decarbonization pathway and remains compatible with the evolving European regulatory framework, safeguarding asset value across its entire lifespan.
The plant will be designed with black-start capability, operating independently of external power supply to assist in grid restoration following a blackout. Based on the same class of gas engines as benchmark European projects, the unit is engineered to reach full capacity within approximately two minutes from startup and synchronize with the grid in under 30 seconds—a reaction time essential for security of supply and grid stability.
Through this configuration, the plant combines the high efficiency of cogeneration, featuring high overall efficiency and reduced emissions compared to the technologies it replaces, with a firm and flexible capacity that provides ancillary services and participates in the balancing market, supporting the integration of renewable energy sources. The black-start capability contributes to system resilience and grid restoration in the event of an outage, while the hydrogen-ready solution opens a long-term decarbonization pathway.
The project will be executed in two phases: the first phase involves the installation of the hot water boilers (HWBs), which will ensure the thermal energy generation capacity, while the second phase will see the commissioning of the cogeneration engines, completing the setup with the simultaneous, high-efficiency generation of electricity and heat.