Bogdan Tudorache
Greenpeace asks the authorities to remove once again the building permit from the official documents required for prosumers who want to install photovoltaic panels. The act had been removed from the law, but was recently “bu mistake” reinstated, as market sources told energynomics.ro.
By a recent modification of the law 50/1991 (regarding the authorization of the execution of the construction works), the Chamber of Deputies eliminated from the law text the exemption for photovoltaic panels from obtaining the building permit. The mentioned exception had been introduced just 4 months before, in June 2019.
Basically, this will be a barrier for those who want to become prosumers. Almost 26,000 citizens are interested in becoming prosumers and have already applied for funding from the Environmental Fund Administration.
By amending law 50/1991 (by law no.193 / 2019, published on October 30 in the Official Gazette), the Chamber of Deputies decided that everyone who is interested in mounting their photovoltaic panels needs a building permit. This requirement will block the funding program initiated by the Environmental Fund Administration and will hinder any individual initiative to produce clean energy.
“It is difficult to find a logical explanation for this new modification of the law made by the Chamber of Deputies. Many citizens waited for the building permit to be abolished, because this bureaucratic step meant costs and time spent uselessly at the doors of the authorities. Reintroduction of the authorization is unspeakable,” says Marian Mândru, campaign coordinator at Greenpeace Romania.
In the short term, the most affected will be those who wish to access the financing program for photovoltaics carried out by the Environmental Fund Administration. The 26,000 citizens who applied risk not meeting the implementation deadlines set in the program guide and may lose the financing of up to 20,000 lei per project.
“We ask the Parliament of Romania and the Government to quickly find solutions for the installation of photovoltaic and thermal panels, both on the roof and on the ground, to be done with minimum effort and with respect to safety regulations. There is a need for a clear, unitary procedure for all the local authorities in the country and the distributors and suppliers of energy,” said Mândru.