Cross-border purchase of green electricity is a reality

T-Mobile Czech Republic, Slovak Telekom and CE Colo Czech Republic, part of the Deutsche Telekom Group, have signed cross-border virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) with Rezolv Energy, a renewable energy producer based in Prague. The electricity will come from the 461 MW "VIFOR" wind power plant being built by Rezolv and Low Carbon in Romania, and these VPPAs enable the construction of the first phase of the project. In the second phase, an additional 700 GWh per year will be available for corporate customers.

The three companies will purchase 100 GWh of clean energy per year for 12 years. T-Mobile Czech Republic has secured 50 GWh per year, Slovak Telekom 40 GWh per year and CE Colo Czech Republic 10 GWh per year.

In the CEE region, the VPPA contracts represent a significant development. Until now, the vast majority of PPAs have consisted of physical agreements that required the buyer and generator to be in the same or neighbouring countries with interconnected grids. In contrast, a VPPA contract is a financial agreement where the buyer receives certificates verifying that the energy supplied to the grid comes from a specific renewable source.

Once operational, VIFOR will be one of the largest onshore wind farms in Europe, standing on an area of 2,869 hectares in the eastern part of Romania. Thanks to its proximity to the Carpathian Mountains and exceptional weather conditions, the project will produce enough clean energy for more than 270,000 homes and avoid approximately 540,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. In Phase 1, Rezolv Energy is installing 192 MW of capacity and plans to expand to 461 MW in Phase 2. Construction will be completed in 18 months and VIFOR will be commissioned before the end of 2025.

In a region that has historically relied on fossil fuels for most of its energy needs, replacing fossil generation with renewables will bring maximum emissions reductions. The project will therefore play a key role in the region's energy transition and help Romania meet its climate targets. In doing so, the project meets the highest international sustainability standards.

Pavel Hadrbolec, CFO of T-Mobile Czech Republic and Slovak Telekom, said: "For us as a leader in the use of renewable energy, this project marks another real step on the road to decarbonisation. The agreement also brings us relevant risk diversification in our energy procurement strategy and energy price hedging."

Alastair Hammond, CEO of Rezolv Energy, said: "The first cross-border virtual PPAs entered into by Czech and Slovak companies can act as a signal to our other businesses. Companies don't have to wait for new renewable energy capacity on the domestic market. For us, these agreements will allow us to implement the first phase of the project, but in the second phase they will make available even more 700 GWh per year. So we are already ready to meet the large-scale demand for green electricity from businesses."

Founded 18 months ago by Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, Rezolv Energy is already preparing to build more than 2 GW of clean energy in South East Europe. In addition to the VIFOR wind farm, other projects include the Dama Solar project in western Romania, which will be the largest solar power plant in Europe with 1,044MW, the 600MW Dunarea East & West wind farm in Constanța, Romania, and the 229MW St. George solar project in northeastern Bulgaria.

Source: Rezolv Energy, and CTK