Romania does not yet offer the most stimulating conditions for the development of renewable projects. However, thousands of MW have already been approved in the market, and investors coming to Romania, but also those already existing on the local market, seem to be more and more active. The first seek out are projects designed in the boom period, but not developed, for many years, although they had all the approvals, because the subsidy was reduced. We expect the newly installed 7 GW to include 3.7 GW in solar projects by 2030. It seems that this figure will be slightly exceeded, given not only the current market situation, but also the large European funds to come.
Local private players remain the most active
One of our most active players, Renovatio is developing 2,000 MW renewable projects in various stages in Romania, Alexandru Teodorescu, the company’s managing partner, told Energynomics. “We are involved in Romania in 2,000 MW projects, in various stages of development. We recently obtained the technical approval for a connection for a wind farm of about 50 MW. We can’t estimate the official value of such an investment, because the market surprised us too – the price of turbines fluctuates a lot, mainly due to the raw materials – steel, copper… None of the producers can provide a binding quote for shipping for more than one month, so shipping prices for this month may be twice as high next month.
He explained that the new 49.8 MW wind farm, located in Dobrogea, will be built and operated on its own. “At the moment, we intend to build it and operate it ourselves,” Teodorescu said.
At the same time, one of the old projects, existing for several years on paper, will finally come to life: Elawan will invest 50-60 million euros in a new wind project of approximately 40 MW in Stuhuleț, Vaslui, told Energynomics company officials. “We will start the construction of the project in 2022, its value will be 50-60 million euros. The park will be operated by us”, said Ciprian Mititelu, project manager.
“I am very happy that Elawan continues with the Stuhuleț project, there are over 10 years of work, blood and sweat there. And it is personal pride to know that I was there from scratch, that I chose and promoted the location, put the wind tower, secured the land, developed, got official opinions, ATR. And if our planning is maintained and our market will not be hit again by legislative, fiscal or regulatory instability, it will be the first new wind project after a long «drought»”, says the former Elawan manager, Mihai Necula.
At the same time, Enel Green Power and Monsson Alma have agreed to build 1,000 MW of wind and solar energy in Romania. The projects will be ready for construction in the next three years. These involve 500 MW in wind farms and 500 MW in solar farms, with 300 MW of storage. Later, the Italian company Alerion Clean Power also announced that it had signed an agreement with Monsson Alma, for the development of three new wind projects in Romania, with a total capacity of approximately 350 MW. “The authorization process for developing power plants is to be completed by the end of 2022,” Alerion Clean Power said.
Another dynamic player on the local market, Photon Energy has a portfolio of photovoltaic projects of almost 218 MW in various stages of development in Romania. The volume has increased sharply from the level of 105.2 MW at the end of 2020. The growth rate in Romania is exceeded only by that in Poland – from 24.9 MW in 2020 to 125.1 MW in 9 months from 2021.
Large companies strive to “green”
One of the most important developments we will see in the market in the coming years will be the conversion of large companies, either distributors or producers from different sources, mainly to solar. Thus, after Hidroelectrica bought the 108 MW Crucea Project from STEAG last year, this year Electrica bought MT Project and HiTech Solar Investment in five companies that own and operate solar power plants with a total installed capacity of 30.95 MW, the transaction amounting to 35 million euros.
In the long run, Hidroelectrica is also looking forward to the offshore wind law in order to participate in a major new project on the Black Sea.
Reuse of land occupied by tailings dumps is another trend. CE Oltenia announced 735 MW in eight solar projects, which provide for the construction of photovoltaic parks on tailings dumps or slag deposits. Included in the Restructuring Project of EC Oltenia, the new strategy was appreciated by investors, currently negotiations are underway with 17 entities (investors and banks) for the development of these projects.
At the same time, the former Sidex – now Liberty Galați is considering the reuse of 110 hectares of land for the construction of solar parks following the closure of a slag dump. “The vision of the Liberty Steel Group is to produce steel sustainably and to become carbon neutral by 2030. Closing the slag dump, redeveloping and transforming it into a green energy production space will be a significant step in our Greensteel transformation plan, and protecting the Malina River is an act of responsibility to our community, ”said Aida Nechifor, General Manager, Liberty.
Newcomers are very careful about the law
Another important phenomenon is the arrival of new players in the market. R.Power, the largest Polish developer of photovoltaic projects, which currently operates a portfolio of projects with a power of over 5 GWp, has signed a cooperation agreement with one of the main Romanian contractors to develop photovoltaic projects with a total power up to 100 MW.
At the same time, the Canadians from Grasshopper Energy announced their entry into Romania through a partnership with Ștefan Sturdza, pursuing solar projects with a capacity of up to 1GW.
The Danes from European Energy, a company that develops, finances, builds and operates wind and solar farms, as well as hydrogen facilities and global storage capacity, have also opened a branch in Romania as part of plans to expand their international presence. and the strategy of becoming a major player in the local market. Since September, Ioannis Kalapodas has been appointed Head of Office of the Bucharest Representation and will lead the activities of European Energy in Romania. “Romania is preparing for a significant increase in the area of renewables, which will lead to a major transformation of the local energy sector and, also to many benefits for consumers and the environment. The trends in the world are very clear: technology and price are accelerating the development of renewable energy in the coming years and I am happy to contribute to the green transition of Romania, a country that is considered among our priorities globally, “said Kalapodas.
“After several years of stagnation of major investments in the renewable energy sector, caused by legislation, the Romanian market looks more and more interesting and one of the reasons is the recent lifting of the ban on concluding power contracts (Power Purchase Agreements ). This allows the energy sector to become less volatile for potential investors”, said Ioannis Kalapodas.
