T-Mobile Czech Republic, Slovak Telekom and CE Colo Czech Republic, all part of the Deutsche Telekom Group, have signed cross-border vPPAs with Actis-backed Rezolv Energy to offtake power from the 461MW VIFOR wind farm.
This project has been developed by Rezolv and Low Carbon in Buzău County, Romania, with the vPPAs enabling the construction of the first phase of the project.
In the second phase, a further 700GWh per year will be available for corporate buyers.
The vPPAs will see the three firms buy 100GWh of clean power per year for 12 years.
T-Mobile Czech Republic has secured 50GWh per year, Slovak Telekom 40GWh per year and CE Colo Czech Republic 10GWh per year.
The vPPAs represent a significant step forward in Central & Southeastern Europe, where most previous PPAs have been physical agreements requiring the buyer and producer to be in the same or neighbouring countries with connected grids.
Once operational, VIFOR phase 1 will install 192MW in capacity with planned expansion to 461MW in phase 2.
Construction is scheduled to be completed within 18 months, with VIFOR coming onstream before the end of 2025.
It will also be built to the highest international sustainability standards to ensure that it leaves a lasting, positive legacy.
Last week, finance loan facilities of up to €291m were secured to support the phase 1 construction from a consortium of eight lenders led by Erste Group, UniCredit Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Intesa Sanpaolo Group, OTP Bank, Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Garanti BBVA Romania.
Pavel Hadrbolec, chief financial officer at T-Mobile Czech Republic and Slovak Telekom, said: “We are proud to became an enabler of a new renewable energy site and became a frontrunner in this area.
“This is a further step in our decarbonisation journey. The deal also brings us relevant risk diversification to our energy procurement strategy and energy prices hedging.”
Alastair Hammond, chief executive at Rezolv Energy, added: “These are the first cross-border virtual PPAs that have been signed by Czech or Slovak companies, and they are an important signal to other businesses in these two countries.
“They do not need to wait for renewable energy capacity to start coming onstream in volume in their home market.
“These agreements will enable phase 1 of this project, but phase 2 will make a further 700GWh available per year.
“The widespread corporate demand for green electricity can therefore be met now.”