Detailed local information and connections are essential to both project developers and investors contemplating an entry on the increasingly attractive Romanian PV market, Dutch-based corporate consultancy Solarplaza International said.
The Romanian government is set to achieve and surpass its 2030 target of having 5,054 MW of operational solar capacity already by 2025 but there is a strong need for solar PV project development to contribute to the timely completion of Romania’s overall renewable energy targets, the company said in a market overview ahead of its Solarplaza Summit in Romania on April 27.
In the first eight months of 2022, solar energy production in Romania reached 1.36 TWh, which was 5.5% more than the same period in 2021, according to the paper.
The Romanian government aims to phase out coal power by 2032 and have 30.7% renewable energy share in the gross final energy consumption by 2030. By 2030, the share of renewable energy in the gross final electricity consumption should be 49.4% and operational solar capacity should add up to 5,054 MW.
To achieve its ambitious plan, the government has allocated 457.7 million euro for the development of 950 MW worth of new wind and solar projects. A total budget of 75 million euro have been earmarked for projects of between 200kW and 1MW and larger projects of over 1 MW have a total budget of 372.7 million euro.
The specific government grant for smaller PV projects is 750,000 euro/MW and for larger PV projects it is 425,000 euro/MW.
Furthermore, the government will reportedly issue a renewable energy subsidy worth around 125 million wuro a year under their new Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme to target 3.5 GW of new RE projects by the end of 2024.
Also, there has been a re-introduction of government legislation to facilitate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). Rooftop solar projects are specifically supported by the Romanian Government under their Casa VerdevFotovoltaice scheme.
However, certain challenges remain. In response to the government removing regulatory barriers regarding developing renewable energy projects on agricultural land, the agriculture ministry has taken it upon itself to reject recent large-scale PV projects planned on such land. Also, high connection costs make smaller projects less attractive economically. Limited availability of power grid capacity is another hurdle.