Moldova launches first-ever onshore wind and solar tender

In a first for the Republic of Moldova, a tender has been launched for the construction of up to 105MW of onshore wind and up to 60MW of solar photovoltaic capacity.

An investor may submit several bids for different projects. However, for a bid to be considered it must be accompanied by a financial guarantee, have an installed capacity between 1MW and 60MW for solar and between 4MW and 105MW for wind.

The contract will be awarded to the investor who has offered the lowest price compared to the ceiling price set in the tender documentation.

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Moldova Energy Minister, Victor Parlicov commented in a government release: "Through this tender we aim to offer local and international companies the opportunity to invest in the Republic of Moldova. We insisted on having extensive consultations with the business community and stakeholders in order to establish the most favorable and least bureaucratic conditions for participation in the tender.

Added Parlicov: "The beauty of this process is that it is a win-win-win situation - we provide business opportunities, we contribute to the decarbonisation of the energy sector and increase the country's energy independence, and through competition we bring the most affordable prices for the end consumer".

According to the participation requirements, the winning investors will receive a guaranteed fixed price for 15 years for the electricity generated.

After the commissioning of the tendered power plants, the share of electricity from renewable energy sources will increase from 10% at the end of 2023 to 16.6%, contributing significantly to Moldova's First offshore wind proposal unveiled in Chile national commitment of a 30% share of electricity from renewable sources in final consumption by 2030.

Three support mechanisms for renewable energy are applied in the Republic of Moldova: net billing to cover own consumption; a 15-year feed-in tariff for producers with a capacity of up to 1 MW; and a fixed price with a guarantee to purchase the energy produced for 15 years, granted through auctions.

The deadline for submission of bids by interested investors is 31 March 2025, 23.59 (EET).