Currently, the Ministry of Economy and Energy (MEEMA) is working to coordinate the National Energy Strategy with the National Energy Climate Plan (NECP), explained at the Energy Strategy Summit Elena Popescu, Director, Transition and Renewable Energy Policy Directorate, MEEMA.
“The text of the Energy Strategy had to be revised accordingly. It will be sent to the Ministry of Environment and will be available on the ministry’s website – where we be available find both the text of the Strategy and the Environmental Report and the Adequate Assessment Study, revised accordingly”, said Popescu.
“The strategy must be designed in a regional and European context. The integrated plans were also discussed at regional level, with the neighboring states, there was an exchange of information between the European states and especially between the neighboring states. All investments are important, in order to adapt and build a new energy system adapted to the new European regulations, to the new package adopted last year, the European Green Deal, with everything that derives from it. We need to adapt our entire energy system and the entire economy to the new guidelines”, says Popescu.
“Romania is really in a context that offers it the potential to have a role here in the region. But for that we need to move very quickly with some necessary investments throughout the energy value chain. When we talk about generation, we are talking about a transition as fast as possible, as much as it allows the strengthening of the network, and also the social problems generated by the transition from coal to gas and renewables. For coal everything becoming increasingly difficult due to the rising price of CO2 certificates and to the new market rules imposed by the new EU legislative package for the internal market. Renewables must grow, but their growth depends on strengthened networks and storage capacities, as well as on increased interconnections. All these actions are included in the NECP and have now been included in the Energy Strategy – some existed, others have been added. Both through NECP and through Strategy, we at the Ministry of Economy and Energy want to give clear signals in the market regarding the direction in which Romania should go to face this technological revolution in the energy field and in the entire economy”, a said Popescu.
“We hope that the revised Energy Strategy will get the environmental approval as soon as possible and then move on to the strategic environmental assessment of NECP, which is finalized and sent to the European Commission, provided that it will be subject to strategic environmental assessment. After completed, we will return with the final NECP adopted by the Government “.
She also explained that the Contracts for Difference mechanism will be applied from 2022 and it will target a wider range of resources, not just nuclear energy.
