The Order of Energy Auditors of Romania (OAER) and the Association of Installation Engineers of Romania (AIIR), express their deep concern regarding some amendments to Law 372/2005 on the energy performance of buildings. The new definition of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) obliges any new building that must also be NZEB to connect to an electricity grid, discriminates against a wide range of technologies that provide energy from renewable sources. In addition, some amendments violate already existing legal provisions, some in the same piece of legislation, or make it impossible to carry out energy audits of buildings.
Law 238/2024 introduces several categories of amendments to Law 372/2005, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions. These are technically useful amendments that correct or clarify previous provisions, formal amendments that correct mistakes in editing or correct Romanian language, but also amendments that lead to discriminatory technological barriers and make it impossible to apply the new law 372, warn the two organizations.
Article 3(15) gives a radically modified definition of a nearly zero energy building (NZEB), according to which “any new building that must also be NZEB can only be realized if it is compulsorily connected to an electricity grid, with guarantees of origin (GO) being granted in Romania by ANRE only for electricity at present”. Even if thermal energy with GOs or green gas (green hydrogen) with GOs were to be found on the market, the obligation to connect new buildings to renewable energy suppliers with GOs would be maintained. Other renewable energy technologies are being discriminated against by limiting or even eliminating them, notes the OAER and AIIR. Thus, ‘an energy-independent building, which would consume electricity produced locally (on-site or nearby) from photovoltaic panels or wind power plants, as well as thermal energy from solar thermal panels, biomass, biofuels or geothermal/water or aerothermal energy, would no longer be possible under the condition set in the new NZEB definition’. In addition, “it clearly neglects the intentions of the European Commission, which through Directive 31/2010, as amended by Directive 844/2018, emphasizes the use of individual (on-site), local and community (nearby) green technologies”.
Also, the definition of NZEB in point 15 art. 3 contradicts the provision of point 3 art.17 of Law 372/2024. Moreover, in the Calculation Methodology Mc001-2022, the definition of NZEB is the one where the 30% percentage of energy consumption from renewable sources can be obtained from any energy mix, from any source located on-site (in/on/near the building) or nearby. “The legislating authorities did not take into account that with the imposed change in the proportions from which the 30% renewable energy consumption percentage of the total primary energy consumption is formed, both the maximum energy consumption values and the maximum CO2 equivalent emission values defining NZEB buildings, for each building category and in each climate zone of Romania, must be changed (Table 2.10a of Mc001-2022). Or in other words, the modification of the NZEB definition leads to the impossibility to apply the technical regulation in force, Mc001-2022, at this moment.”
Another aspect overlooked by the legislator concerns the impossibility for an energy auditor to draw up the NZEB compliance report, a document required during the DTAC phase (technical documentation for construction authorization), before obtaining the building permit, without being certain of both the electricity supplier (knowing that the supplier is established during the construction phase, long after the DTAC phase) and the mix of energy sources from which a building is supplied. An energy supplier that owns the GO will, over time, deliver energy from renewable sources in a variable proportion that could override the NZEB status of the new building after authorization.
OAER & AIIR urge the state authorities to urgently correct the inapplicable amendments to Law 372, with the involvement of experts in the field to ensure that the new provisions are technically correct and applicable, and are technologically neutral, favoring innovation and diversity of existing solutions on the market. It is essential that the legislation supports national and European energy efficiency objectives without imposing unjustified barriers and additional costs for stakeholders.
Law 372/2005 on the energy performance of buildings. The amendments were amended by Presidential Decree by the President of Romania on July 19, 2024, and then published in the Official Gazette Part I No. 714 on July 22, 2024.