Romania wants to restart coal-fired power plants, but won’t give up climate neutrality target

Romania embarked on the Green Deal without analysing the phasing of coal-fired power plant closures “fairly enough”. That is why the government plans to ask the European Commission for permission to extend the deadline beyond 2030, said Casian Nitulescu, secretary of state at the energy ministry.   “On the Green Deal versus Smart Deal, we have indeed embarked on a rather complicated and sensitive energy transition, but we have not analysed the closure and replacement phases of coal-fired power generation units properly enough,” he said at the conference “Romanian Energy Market – Facts of 2025”. “I hope that, with joined-up thinking, we will be able to extend these closure deadlines to 2030 something. It also depends on when the new gas-fired units will be commissioned. However, we are not deviating from the plan to achieve climate neutrality,” he added.   Nitulescu added that since 1990, Romania has reduced its carbon emissions by 77%, more than double the European average of 31%. This means that Romania can be considered to be on track to meet the milestones for phasing out polluting energy.   “It’s just that we didn’t analyse it properly at the right time – or maybe there were other circumstances. But, taking into account the current analysis in the European area, there is a possibility, through a joint decision, to prolong this activity, which is a flexible source of energy and does not cause imbalances. I do not want to upset those who are in favour of renewable energy, and I am also in favour of it, but we have to recognise that it depends on meteorological factors. We want to develop as much renewable energy as we can, but also natural gas and new grids,” said the Secretary of State.   According to him, the initial target of the energy strategy adopted last year is to achieve energy independence. The budget of the Ministry of Energy is also generous in terms of investments, with about 86% of the budget allocated for investments to be financed through the Modernisation Fund and the NRRP.   “We have allocated 13 billion lei to pay for these investments. They will help to increase energy production capacity, modernise and make industry more efficient, and develop several factories, including battery factories. The projects will primarily support the national economy. I can even say that the energy sector is one of the main pillars of the national economy, which helps economic growth, job creation and a favourable climate for all Romanian citizens”, concluded Nitulescu.   At the same time, the Energy Ministry will extend the natural gas price cap scheme by one year, and on the electricity side, several strategies will be considered, including a three-month extension or a gradual exit, through support in the form of a card or compensation of a percentage of a vulnerable consumer’s bill. “For the next month and a half, we are convinced that we will have no problems with natural gas and 85 per cent of our electricity needs will be covered,” he added.   The conference “Romanian Energy Market – Facts of 2025” was organized by Energynomics with the support of our partners: Alive Capital, Elektra Renewable Support, Enevo Group, Hidroelectrica, Nano Energies. Software Media WEBUS 4 ENERGY, Think Blu Solution.