Rezolv Energy has secured financing of up to €331m to support construction of the 269MW second phase of its Vifor wind farm in Romania.
The Actis-backed company has signed incremental project finance facilities for Phase 2, which will take the project in Buzău County to its full 461MW capacity.
Financing of the second phase is largely supported by lenders from the first phase. These include Erste Group and UniCredit Group, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Intesa Sanpaolo Group and OTP Bank, and Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien.
Vifor Phase 1 is currently under construction (pictured) and will involve the installation of 192MW in capacity – 30 turbines of 6.4MW each. These are scheduled to be operational by the spring of 2026.
Phase 2, which will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2027, will add 42 turbines, increasing the overall project capacity to 461MW – enough electricity to power more than 700,000 homes.
Once fully operational, Vifor will become the largest wind farm built in Romania over the last 10 years, and one of the largest onshore wind farms in Europe.
In approving the loans, the banks acknowledged Rezolv’s commitment to sustainability.
In addition to the environmental benefits, Vifor is creating hundreds of local jobs, delivering economic benefits to the local area, and supporting community initiatives in Buzău County, which are aimed at ensuring that the project leaves a positive legacy for local people.
Rezolv Energy chief executive Alastair Hammond said: “We are delighted to have sourced this significant additional funding from our trusted group of international lenders.
“With Phase 1 of the Vifor project scheduled for completion by spring 2026, this financing allows us to move seamlessly into Phase 2 and take the project to its full capacity.”
Actis partner and head of Central and Eastern Europe Jaroslava Korpanec said: “With Vifor’s first phase well under construction, it’s fantastic to see such great progress on Phase 2 of the project.
“This second phase will add real, material scale to Vifor and make it one of the largest onshore wind farms in Europe. Vifor represents a key pillar of Rezolv Energy’s plan to deliver clean power for Europe.”
Rezolv Energy was launched in 2022 by Actis, an investor in sustainable infrastructure, and has a 2.3GW portfolio of large-scale wind and solar projects in Europe.
As well as the Vifor wind farm, projects include Dama Solar in western Romania which, at 1044MW, will be the largest solar plant anywhere in Europe once it is built.
Rezolv also has the 600MW Dunarea East and West wind farms in Romania’s Constanța County, and St George, a 225MW solar project which is currently under construction in north-eastern Bulgaria.