BUCHAREST (Romania), August 10 (SeeNews) – Czech energy group CEZ said on Friday its half-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from power production and trade in Romania more than doubled to 1.3 billion Czech crowns ($63.3 million/51.6 million euro) from 600 million crowns a year ago.
The rise was due to increased electricity production in the wind parks Fantanele and Cogealac thanks to the higher number of installed wind turbines, CEZ said in its half-year report.
The wind parks produced 456 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity in January-June, 30% up from a year earlier. CEZ expects production at the wind parks to reach 1,000 GWh in the full year 2012.
CEZ had 176 wind turbines with combined capacity of 440 megawatts installed in Romania at the end of June. It said the project for having 240 wind turbines in place at the two wind parks is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
CEZ's other operating segment in Romania, electricity distribution and sale, posted an EBITDA of 1.7 billion crowns in the first half, up from 800 million crowns a year earlier, mainly due to improved payment discipline of the Romanian railway operator CFR, it said.
CEZ plans to produce 1.1 terrawatt hours (TWh) of electricity from renewable resources in Romania this year, nearly double the figure of 600 TWh generated in 2011.
Besides the two wind parks, CEZ also operates a small hydropower plant near Resita, in western Romania.
CEZ has been present in Romania since 2005.
(1 euro=25.1831 Czech crowns)