Romania’s renewable energy market is booming, with intense activity in terms of PV and wind project transactions, and is poised for the introduction of contracts for difference (CfD).

“There is still a quasi-effervescence in the area of ​​investments at the project stage. The market is ready to implement the CfD scheme”, said Liviu Gavrilă, RWEA vice-president, during the “More renewables for Romania” conference, organized by Energynomics.

However, the lack of support schemes can make it difficult to install new power generation capacity. In the case of wind projects, which are generally large, the financing costs are significant, starting at tens of millions of euros, and require a strategic approach in the medium and long term. The amortization of such an investment is usually realized after a period of more than 10 years. Investors may also be reluctant due to uncertainties regarding tax changes and the approval process.

Romania has the potential to become a green energy exporter, considering the abundance of projects, if it manages to materialize them. Among Romania’s advantages is the diversity of the energy mix. While the European trend is to promote nuclear and renewable energy projects, Romania also has hydropower plants.

“We are at a crucial moment where we hope to use gas for the transition, but the future for the next 20-40 years means nuclear energy, renewable energy, and hydropower. To achieve the assumed objectives, we need 11 GW of solar energy, half for self-consumption and half on a large scale, and about 11 GW of wind power,” said Gavrila.

However, the installation of offshore wind turbines in the Black Sea before 2030 is not likely.

An additional challenge is that in the next 5-7 years all existing wind farms will reach the end of their service life due to age and will require either decommissioning or upgrading.

Also, many wind projects, including existing ones, are considering the implementation of photovoltaic panels and even energy storage systems. However, without adequate funding, introducing the storage component can be problematic from a cost-effectiveness point of view.

“More renewables for Romania” conference was organized by Energynomics, with the support of our partners among which Alive Capital, Astrasun, BCR, Elektra Renewable Support, EnergoBit, Eximprod, Ensys Renewable Solution, ING Bank, LAPP Romania, Metacon, Noark, Photomate, REI Grup, TAW Energy, Volt, Wiren