Parapet, a provider of EPC solutions in the renewable sector, completed in August the first repowering project for a photovoltaic power plant in Romania, Solar Electric Frăsinet, owned by the Austrian Kraftfeld Group. Roughly 11,500 damaged solar panels were replaced with new generation ones, restoring electricity production to the full capacity of nearly 12 GWh/year, the company said.

Located in the southern part of the country, the plant has a total power capacity of 9.5 MWp that spans approximately 16.5 hectares. As part of the repowering efforts, around 3 MWp of the installed capacity has been fully upgraded.

The modernization work consisted of replacing 11,550 PV panels with new ones because of cracked back sheets in several modules that led to the underproduction of electricity. The defective modules were replaced as part of a warranty claim, effectively restoring the plant to its full capacity.

A total of 220 tons of photovoltaic waste generated by the panel replacements were recycled through a local authorized contractor. The recycled materials included 165.1 tons of glass (75%), 19.8 tons of aluminum (9%), 6.6 tons of silicon (3%), 3.3 tons of copper (1.5%), and 25.3 tons of adhesive (11.5%).

“The project is one of the pioneering initiatives in Romania, involving the repowering of a photovoltaic park installed during the first wave of renewables in the country. It is the first project of this kind that we are undertaking in Romania and the fifth in Europe, with similar projects completed in France, Germany, and Austria,” said Paul Moldovan, CTO of Parapet.

“We anticipate an increase in similar projects across Romania, focusing on improving the performance of existing photovoltaic parks and sustaining renewable energy production nationwide.”

Parapet has undertaken similar projects for repowering photovoltaic power plants in France, Germany, and Austria. These projects involved replacing 100,000 photovoltaic panels and enhancing their efficiency by approximately 30% while extending the lifespan of the repowered power plants by 15 years.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Parapet)