Romania has implemented an incentive scheme supporting renewable energy in 2004, when it opted for a mandatory quota system combined with the trading of green certificates.
Four years later, an improved incentive scheme was regulated through law 220/2008. A secondary legislation for the application of law 220/2008 was drafted in 2010, after consultations with European Commission staff. The new legislation will be implemented as of September.
“If the law setting up the incentive scheme is applied in September, the impact on electricity bills will be of some 3% this year. For 2012, the impact could reach 10%, because developers may start wind farms with a total capacity of 1,500-2,000 MW,” Bege said.
The incentive scheme will be applied between 2011 and 2021. The greatest impact will be felt in 2016-2017, when consumers may pay 30% more on their bills.
According to ANRE calculations, consumers will pay an additional EUR10 billion by 2020 to support renewable energy.
At the end of 2010, Romania had a total 442 MW capacity in wind farms. For this year, the overall wind farm capacity is expected to double.