Romania will publish a call for its first solar and wind power auctions within weeks, pending the green light from the government and the Modernisation Fund, Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja estimated, https://balkangreenenergynews.com/ reports. He announced the ceiling prices in the bids for CfD market premiums would be EUR 91 per MWh and EUR 93 per MWh, respectively. Romania will be the first country to use the European Union’s Modernisation Fund to cover two-way contracts for difference (CfDs) with renewable electricity producers. The government received a green light last week from the European Commission for a EUR 3 billion state aid scheme for solar and wind power projects. Auction winners will be entitled to a guaranteed price for the electricity they sell for 15 years, Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja noted. Under a CfD, the government pays the private operator the difference if the market price is lower than the price in its contract. When it’s the other way around, the utility returns the difference. It means predictability for encouraging strategic investments in Romania’s green transition, Burduja stressed. He vowed to make the competitive bidding process as competitive as possible. “Because a lower reference price will give a signal to the entire European market, and even beyond the European Union, that Romania is really attractive for investments in the energy sector, on the one hand, and on the other hand, it no longer exposes the state to a risk of paying more than would be the case in a comfortable time horizon for investors of 15 years,” Burduja stated. Hefty green energy subsidies crippled government finances a decade ago, so the renewables market collapsed and remained dormant for several years. The upcoming auctions are envisaged to be held for projects with an overall 1 GW in solar power and 1 GW in wind power capacity. Another 1.5 GW for each technology is planned for next year, bringing the combined quota to 5 GW. Burduja revealed that the ceiling, the maximum bidding prices, would be EUR 91 per MWh for photovoltaics and EUR 93 per MWh for wind farm projects. The levels were determined with consultants and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The minister said he expects final auction prices to be significantly lower. Last year Romania was a net electricity exporter, he underscored. It was the first time since 2018.
The number of people in Romania at risk of poverty stood at 3.59 million people in 2024, 375,000 fewer than in 2023, representing a 9.4% decrease, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, or INS. Despite the improvement, nearly one in five Romanians was affected by poverty last year. According to INS, 19% […]
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cluj-Napoca carried out multiple searches on Tuesday, July 1, at the Sibiu International Airport and the Sibiu County Council as part of an investigation into suspected fraud involving a EUR 54 million EU-funded infrastructure project. A total of 24 locations were searched across Bucharest, Brașov, and Sibiu county, […]
A Romanian taxi driver who scammed 90-year-old Nigerian Nobel Prize laureate Wole Soyinka was detained by police on Sunday, June 29, according to media reports. On Friday, June 27, the venerable Nigerian arrived at Bucharest's Otopeni Airport. He got into a taxi and asked to be taken to a hotel downtown. At the destination, the […]
Costin Șerban, a Romanian entrepreneur, is digitalizing the construction sector in the United Kingdom with an ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution developed over 12 years and an investment of GBP 1.6 million (EUR 1.86 million). Șerban’s cloud-based ERP platform is called Abilo, was developed by the Romanian IT company Obi Systems, and is dedicated to […]
Border checks between Bulgaria and Romania have officially been lifted on July 1, as part of the implementation of the Schengen Agreement. The lifting marks the end of the transitional period of heightened control at the internal border, which had remained in place for six months following their accession to the Schengen area by land […]
Remus Vulpescu became CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) on Tuesday, July 1, taking over from Adrian Tănase as the stock exchange grapples with a market dominated by government bonds. Vulpescu, 53, is a graduate in political and legal sciences from the University of Bucharest and holder of an EMBA obtained in 2017. He […]
