“Mr. Popescu’s company, Energie Investments Group (EIG), has acquired 500 hectares from the villagers and leased a further 65 from the Local Council, for a period of 49 years. He intends to build an Aeolian park with 48 turbines of 5 MW each,” according to a confirmation for Business Standard by Sterian Gherghisan, Mayor of Vacareni, a town in Tulcea County. The Mayor added that construction is to begin in July 2010.
“I do not like talking about my businesses. I can neither confirm nor deny investments in Aeolian energy. If the local authorities have made declarations on my intentions to do business in the area, this is on their head. I do not know if the wind energy sector will be more profitable in the long-run, but if real estate has dropped, you have to redirect,” said Popescu for Business Standard. If the project goes according to details provided by Gherghisan, the Vacareni wind park will include the largest turbines in Romania, with double the capacity of the Czech CEZ group’s projects in Fantanele and Cogealac.
According to the latest Top 500 Billionaires [in lei], Popescu’s fortune was estimated in 2008 at €40 million, and he has a holding with ten companies.
