The main associations of investors in renewable projects are asking the Romanian Government to revise the law according to which certain state-owned companies receive land directly from ADS, which contravenes national and European legislation and affects the competitive market, according to a new press release.
Thus, the “Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association” (RPIA), the Romanian Wind Energy Association (RWEA) and the Employers’ Organization of Energy Producers from Renewable Sources in Romania (PATRES) representing producers, developers and providers of services and equipment in the renewable energy sector , with a total installed power of over 5 GW, criticizes the Emergency Ordinance regarding some measures related to the exercise of public and private property rights of the state, which distort competition on the energy market.
“RPIA, RWEA and PATRES, along with other relevant associations, have repeatedly pointed out the non-competitive nature of the direct concession of land administered by the State Domains Agency (ADS) to companies in the state’s portfolio, which contravenes national and European legislation.
In the context where, from 2022, private investors can only develop projects on areas below 50 hectares (maximum 42 MWcc/34MWac) based on the erroneous interpretation of the land fund law by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), the introduction, through the new Emergency Ordinance, of a derogation from this restriction only for projects declared “of national interest”, unjustifiably favors companies where the state is the majority shareholder, being deeply anti-competitive, unconstitutional and discriminatory for operators operating in the renewable energy market. Considering that both public and private actors – regardless of the nature of the majority capital holder – compete on the same market, there are no objective indicators that justify the preferential access of certain entities to the lands owned by the state. Moreover, the Government does not provide an explanation for not applying the same treatment to owners and private investors. Thus, considering that, in the sub-category of photovoltaic projects, the developed capacities cannot be differentiated according to the holder of the majority capital, the selective granting of access to land and legislative exemptions is not justifiable,” the press release states.
RPIA, RWEA and PATRES emphasize that this GEO sends a strong negative message to investors, who are already discouraged by the instability of the regulatory framework, which significantly affects the fulfillment of the climate neutrality objectives assumed by Romania and the competitiveness of the industry that will not be able to benefit in the shortest possible time by electricity from renewable sources at a competitive price, due to the delay or even the cancellation of projects in various stages of development. Such measures must respect the principle of transparency and fair competition, which implies the organization of public auctions whenever rights are assigned to land in the public or private domain of the state, or, at least, the definition of clear selection criteria and non-discriminatory; a direct negotiation between ADS and certain selected companies is not able to ensure such a level playing field.
“We reiterate, in this way, that RPIA, RWEA, PATRES and related industries do not oppose the realization of such projects, but request the provision of fair competition conditions for all developers of energy production capacities from renewable sources, which can achieve by removing the 50-hectare barrier for all projects, regardless of whether the land is state-owned or private, and by inviting all interested parties to participate in a transparent and competitive process for the allocation of land areas where they are owned of the state.”
