Romania’s Mintia gas-fired power project has entered commissioning after reaching its first turbine ignition. The milestone comes as a €1.2 billion investment progresses toward grid connection for the 1.7 GW facility. The first gas turbine was fired on October 8, marking a technical step for the project.
The plant is developed by Mass Global Energy Rom at the site of the former Mintia coal-fired power station. The private investment is reported to exceed €1.2 billion. The project includes two gas turbines with an aggregate output of approximately 1.1 GW.
Commissioning status and technical scope
The full combined-cycle configuration is designed to reach around 1.7 GW. The first ignition does not indicate that the plant is commercially operational. Additional testing, grid synchronisation and initial electricity deliveries are required before capacity can be made available to the market.
Further steps are therefore expected before Mintia can contribute generation to the system. This commissioning phase precedes any market availability of electricity from the new unit.
Romania’s electricity system and import-linked price levels
The ignition occurs during a period described as difficult for Romania’s electricity system. Both Cernavodă nuclear reactors have been unavailable, removing approximately 1.36 GW of baseload generation. Romania has relied heavily on electricity imports as a result.
Day-ahead prices have repeatedly exceeded €200/MWh, while evening prices have climbed above €300/MWh. Once operational, Mintia is expected to affect that balance by adding new dispatchable generation capacity.
Role in balancing and implications for gas demand
Mintia would provide dispatchable output able to respond to demand peaks and compensate during periods of weak wind, solar or hydropower production. Its combined-cycle configuration is also described as offering higher efficiency than older gas-fired and coal units.
The project is also expected to increase natural gas demand in Romania. That raises the importance of domestic gas resources, including the Neptun Deep Black Sea project, which is expected to begin production in 2027. For lenders and electricity traders, Mintia’s commercial value would depend on gas prices, carbon costs, plant efficiency and the number of profitable operating hours.
Market conditions for flexible operation
The plant is set to operate in a market where midday solar is described as relatively cheap and evening electricity is relatively expensive. This market structure places emphasis on flexible dispatch rather than continuous baseload operation for Mintia’s economics.
Mintia has not yet added electricity to the grid, but its first turbine ignition moves Romania closer to replacing part of its lost firm generation with a modern asset that can influence regional electricity prices.
