Romania has made a spectacular leap in terms of green energy in the last year and a half, having already attracted around EUR1 billion in investments, largely in wind farms. The only reasons behind this boom are the strong winds in Dobrogea and the scheme that supports this system, which is about to be approved by the Romanian state. Czech-held CEZ, Italian-held Enel, as well as local entrepreneurs have allocated hundreds of millions of euros for some of the few notable investments in the local energy sector made in the last 20 years.
Apart from the jobs they generate, the transfer of know-how, and the money that remains on the local market, these investments pose two major problems: they are set to increase bills by up to 70% by 2020 and to cause problems for the energy system because of the uncontrollable nature of this type of energy. National grid company Transelectrica says it can easily integrate around 3,000 MW of wind power into the system, but the most recent data show that at the beginning of July projects of over 8,200 MW, equivalent to the capacity of more than 10 Cernavoda reactors, had contracts to join the grid.
More than 35% of electricity consumed last year was green, above the 33% target Romania was supposed to meet, according to European provisions, because 2010 was a year with significant rainfall and also the year when wind farms started to operate. Each MWh of energy consumed was 0.8 euros more expensive because of the green energy. Some also say Romania will face an overcapacity of green energy, with this being the new bubble of the future.
The decisive moment will be when Law 220/2008, one of the most important pieces of legislation of the last few years, comes into force. It sets out the manner in which the Romanian state supports investments in renewable energy.
Romania is awaiting the approval of the European Commission at the beginning of August.
“The problem with the current legislation (i.e. Law 220/2008 which sets out the support scheme for green energy) is that the legislation does not provide for any cap of installed capacity, up to which the Romanian state agrees to support these investments,” says Dan Plaveti, president of the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE).