The February edition of the ranking revealed that Romania had also climbed one spot, from the 33rd to the 32nd, E&Y’s quarterly report on renewable energy attractiveness reads.
E&Y Romania specialists said adverse changes to renewable energy regulations in Romania over the last period are a setback for investors in the sector.
E&Y’s report tracks the relative attractiveness of 40 countries’ renewable energy markets across a selection of technologies each quarter.
Among the countries in the region, Poland and Turkey outrank Romania, placing 27th and 20th, respectively, while Greece and Ukraine, which are also included in the report, place 33th and 38th, respectively.
The top four spots remained unchanged since the edition in February, being taken by the United States, China, Germany and Japan. Canada climbed to the fifth place and Great Britain dropped to the sixth position.
According to the report, although the United States keep their top spot, China is just one step behind and keeps strengthening its position. China is expected to outtake the United States on the wind and solar energy segments by the end of the decade.
Producers of renewable energy in Romania benefit from government support via a green certificates scheme, which allows them to recover part of the production costs. In June 2013, the government issued an emergency ordinance temporarily reducing the number of certificates granted under the scheme, in a bid to lower electricity prices.