Renewable producers accuse the government of proving no interest in the renewable sector. While the European Union proposes 32% targets for 2030, Romania sticks at only 27.9% and completely ignores the call for getting rid of coal.
“Unfortunately, the renewable sector is not a priority for the authorities. We have read Romania’s Energy Strategy 2018-2030 with the 2050 perspective and the integrated National Energy and Climate Change Plan (NECP) drafted by the Ministry of Energy, and noted with concern that Romania is in contrast with the other member states of the Union European in promoting and supporting renewable energy”, PATRES Vice President Martin Moise told energynomics.ro.
“Thus, while Europe sets a renewable energy share of 32%, our country has decided to submit to the European Commission a target of only 27.9% for 2030. Authorities consider renewable energy as a burden instead of seeing it as an opportunity, taking into account Romania’s abundant resources and that even today, renewable energy in new power plants is cheaper than energy generated by traditional, polluting sources”, says Moise.
He reminds that the priority objective set by the EC through the long-term strategy of the EU economy is the complete decarbonization of the economy and, implicitly, of the electricity production sector.
“By 2050, Europe will have to renounce to fossil fuels completely in energy generation and rely 80% on E-RES. Romania, on the other hand, grants new subsidies to coal producers. Whether or not it is a legally granted state aid, this will be established by the Competition Council, and also an approval by the European Commission is required”, Moise said.
“I totally agree that Romania still needs coal, for the next 5, 10, maybe 15 years, but it is worrying the superficial way in which the energy transition is treated. I see the great plans / projects, which have been under discussion for years, are still included in the draft of the national energy strategy. However, there is no timetable for reducing the dependency on polluting technologies. There is no clear, coherent renewable energy strategy, while it represents the future of energy in Romania, in Europe and around the world”, said PATRES vice president.