Romania is launching its first auction for a contract-for-difference (CfD) support scheme for renewable energy this month. Onshore wind power projects and solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a total capacity of 2,000 MW will be supported through a CfD scheme for 15 years. The auction will take place this month, with successful bidders expected to be announced in November 2023.

An information note to bidders will be published ahead of the official launch of the auction and will be made available on the Romanian Ministry of Energy’s website.

The EBRD is working together with the Ministry of Energy and other Romanian authorities to create the necessary legal and regulatory framework for the CfD support scheme and to implement the competitive tender process for the first round of auctions in 2023.

The two-way CfD scheme incentivises investments in renewable energy by providing revenue stability to developers and strengthening the market integration of renewables. The auctions represent the first round of a multi-year plan, which envisages the award of CfDs for a total of 10 GW of onshore wind-power and solar-PV generation capacity by 2030.

“We are proud to play a key role in developing Romania’s renewable energy sector and to support its ambition to decarbonise the Romanian economy, in line with the Recovery and Resilience Plan milestones and country-level renewable energy targets. This new CfD scheme awarded through auctions is critical to unlocking private-sector investment and to ensuring the transition to a resilient and green energy sector. We thank the Ministry of Energy and all stakeholders in Romania engaged alongside us in this undertaking,” said Mark Davis, EBRD Regional Head of Romania and Bulgaria.

The EBRD has supported the implementation of renewable-energy auctions in many of the Bank’s countries of operations. To date, the EBRD has invested €10.5 billion in 514 projects in Romania.