Wind and solar energy investors in Romania demand more transparency in granting public support

The Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA) and the Romanian Wind Energy Association (RWEA), representing manufacturers, developers, service providers and equipment suppliers in the renewable energy sector, have asked the Romanian government to ensure greater predictability in the allocation of public support for their projects.

The associations’ joint statement comes after government officials suggested the distribution of the Contract for Difference (CfD) support programme between wind and solar would be changed to favour wind farms, as a large number of solar projects are already funded under other programmes such as the Resilience Facility or the Modernisation Fund. Initially, the government announced an equal split of the CfD programme between wind and solar projects.

However, investor associations have made it clear that projects that received funding under the Resilience Facility and the Modernisation Fund may not be implemented.

“The development of renewable energy is a competitive process, involving many factors, such as economic considerations, land availability, environmental impact and grid connection, against a backdrop of an unpredictable legal framework. Therefore, the existence of projects that have won competitions for European funds is not an indicator of the number of MW that will be built and launched,” the associations said, as quoted by Economica.net.

Romania will provide RON 15.2 billion (over EUR 3 billion) in subsidies for new onshore solar and wind energy capacity under the Contract for Difference (CfD) mechanism to encourage new investments.

Romania plans to finance the CfD program from the Modernization Fund. Previous green energy programs were financed directly by end consumers.

However, there is no certainty that the EUR 3 billion allocated to the CfD programme will be sufficient to cover 5 GW of projects.

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