Romania sets to install 10 GW of solar, wind energy by decade end

Romania has a very ambitious goal to install 10 GW of solar and wind energy by the end of the decade, and in the coming weeks and months we will also focus on storage, mainly in batteries, but also on hydro storage, senior official with the Ministry of Energy Cristian Busoi said on Tuesday at a specialised conference."We need more pragmatism and to focus more on the competitiveness of European industry, as President von der Leyen, Chancellor Merz and other European leaders have asked for very clearly in recent months. The direction is very clear: we are moving towards Net Zero, towards the Green Deal objectives. We have intermediate targets for 2030 and, of course, an important pillar of this transformation of our energy system, the transport industry and society is energy efficiency. We have a very ambitious directive, which was discussed in the previous tenure of the European Parliament and the European Council. Now we have objectives to achieve, and in this energy efficiency, of course, the efficiency of the buildings is extremely important," said Busoi.He mentioned two financing programmes for energy efficiency carried out through the Ministry of Energy."The first one was recently completed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) not long ago, a few days ago, the deadline was August 31. It was an investment in equipment, 40 projects worth EUR 64 million, with co-financing. Now we are preparing a new scheme funded from the Modernisation Fund (...), of 150 million, but which is intended for companies that are part of the EU ETS scheme. However, we have an important role in ensuring energy efficiency, but especially renewable energy for buildings. Because the concept of NZEBs (Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings) should not be seen only as a technical standard, but as a fundamental change in the way we design, build, renovate and use buildings. In general, a building is an energy consumer, and the idea of NZEBs and the entire transformation is quite different: to minimise energy demand and cover as much of this demand as possible through renewable energy sources," the official said.He added that on the integration of renewable energy sources, Romania has a very ambitious target by the end of the decade, namely to install 10 GW of solar and wind energy."Of course, we have already inherited hydro-energy, which is renewable. We will continue to expand that as well. We had some problems with NGOs that attacked some projects. Now the legislation is different. Some of these cases have been unblocked, but the focus is mainly on solar, wind and geothermal, but the latter more for district heating, less for electricity production. Here, the Ministry of Energy supported the production of electricity from renewable sources through CAPEX capital expenditures co-financing. We had a project in the PNRR of over EUR 200 million, with 30 projects co-financed. We have several projects financed from the Modernisation Fund for own consumption, but also for production, and we have a very successful scheme of contracts for the difference of over EUR 3 billion for the next 15 years, in three different schemes, which provide certainty and guarantee a strike price for investment in renewable energy," said Busoi.He added that in the new legislation, also adopted within the PNRR, Romania has committed to resorting to these types of support, state aid schemes, and to stop financing part of the initial investments in the future."Now the market is mature, now the production of electricity from renewable sources is, more or less, a business case," the official added.He pointed out that the relevant authorities will focus on battery energy storage, as well as on the one intended for the hydro area."We will focus, in the coming weeks and months, on storage, mainly batteries, but not only. Of course, hydro storage is also part of the projects that the Ministry of Energy will implement in the coming months and years. That will be announced soon through the future Modernisation Fund. Most likely there will be a memorandum this week. We have committed over EUR 10 billion in various programmes. Not all projects will be fully implemented, but we need all these projects: electricity distribution networks, production, the transformation of the Jiu Valley energy complex, contracts for difference - all of these. We still have a little over two billion at our disposal and we have to see where we focus in the next two years, let's say, because the projects must be completed in 2030. So, the last calls must start in 2028 at the latest in order to be ready on time. And we are looking at the next multiannual financial framework and the cohesion funds, but also at the future of the Modernisation Fund. We are lobbying very strongly with the European Commission, the European institutions and other member states to continue in the next decade, perhaps a little different, related to reforms, with stricter deadlines, as the PNRR worked," Busoi said.AHK Romania organised a conference on energy efficiency attended by decisionmakers and experts in the field.