The Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA) and the Romanian Wind Energy Association (RWEA), representing manufacturers, developers and service and equipment providers in the renewable energy sector, with a total installed capacity of around 4.5 GW, are calling on the authorities to ensure a level playing field for all renewable energy capacity developers.
In a press release, the two associations state that, together with other associations in the sector, they have repeatedly pointed out the non-competitive nature of the direct concession of land administered by the State Land Agency (ADS) to state-owned companies, which contravenes national and European legislation.
“In the context that, from 2022, private investors can only develop projects on areas of less than 50 hectares (maximum 42 MW) based on the restrictive interpretation of the land law by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), the draft Emergency Ordinance on certain measures for state-owned public property, which favours entities and companies where the state is a majority shareholder, is deeply anti-competitive. It is imperative that such a legislative change, which has an impact on a market where distinct types of entities and companies compete freely, respects national and European rules.”
RPIA and RWEA reiterate that repeated attempts to change the legislative framework discourage investment and, implicitly, affect the achievement of Romania’s climate neutrality targets, as a result of the message they send to private actors. “Such measures must respect the principle of transparency and fair competition, which implies the organisation of public tenders for the award of concessions and surface rights, or, at least, the definition of clear and non-discriminatory selection criteria; a direct negotiation between ADS and certain selected companies is not able to ensure such a level playing field.”
“We stress that the classification of projects to be carried out by state-owned companies (or private companies where the state is a majority shareholder) as investment objectives of national interest involves facilitating the approval process, not the direct allocation of land or surface rights.”
RPIA and RWEA insist that they are not opposed to such projects, but call for a level playing field for all renewable energy capacity developers. This “can be achieved by removing the 50-hectare barrier and inviting all interested parties to participate in a transparent and competitive process for the allocation of state-owned land”.