Oltenia Energy Complex (EC) will remain in 2026-2027 with only two coal groups, only at the Rovinari power plant, it is shown in the substantiation note of the normative act by which the Government will grant state aid for the acquisition of carbon certificates for the year 2020, quoted by e-nergia.ro.

The Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu, recently stated that the ministry presented a new restructuring plan to the European Commission, which was much better approved than the previous one, according to Agerpres. Thus, the new version cuts about 1,000 MW compared to the previous one, which provided 1,650 MW for coal in 2026.

“Basically, this Restructuring Plan of the CEO is the first and largest decarbonization action of the production sector in Romania. The installed capacity based on lignite will decrease from 3,570 MW (early 20201) to 660 MW (only two groups at Rovinari) at the beginning of 2027, which means a reduction of 82% in 6 years. The annual reduction of CO2 emissions from lignite is of 4 million tons (from 8.6 million tons in 2021 to 2.6 million tons in 20207),” it is shown in the document quoted by e-nergia.ro.

“The operation of the two units in Rovinari, after 2025, is based on ensuring energy security based on a market mechanism. In the absence of such a mechanism, these units will not operate, the subject being in the attention of Transelectrica, which will update to ensure the adequacy of the national energy system in the regional context. This approach will represent the second and last phase of the fossil fuel decarbonization plan in Romania.”