Romania

The Romanian government has reportedly rejected almost all permit requests for large-scale solar projects. Law firm Vlăsceanu, Nyerges & Partners claims that the authorities are misinterpreting new rules designed to streamline the permitting process for small projects and support solar on agricultural land.

NREL and Berkeley Lab have proposed efficiency and stability best practices for solar water-splitting to make hydrogen, while a team of researchers from Malaysia and Pakistan have revealed their findings on the feasibility of hydrogen-based incineration.

UK independent power producer Rezolv Energy has acquired the late-stage development rights to a 1,044 MW solar project in Arad county, Romania. The Eastern European country is preparing to roll out a contract-for-difference (CfD) scheme early next year to deploy 3.5 GW of solar and wind.

Romania has unveiled a state aid scheme to support investments in the production of hydrogen powered by solar, hydro and wind, while Air Products and Gunvor have agreed to build a hydrogen import terminal in Rotterdam.

Romania is set to put new solar regulations into force through the end of 2026. The rules will allow PV, wind, biomass, bioliquid, biogas, storage projects, and transformer stations to be built directly on land in several previously prohibited fertility classes.

Panels will be installed at waste sites in five mining towns as part of the latest, €2.4 billion ($2.57 million) round of investment from a fund set up to help coal-dependent European member states with the energy transition.

The Romanian government is working with EIT InnoEnergy to accelerate the country’s involvement in the European battery value chain through several initiatives and by committing to the training of 20,000 workers.

Engie Romania is building an 8 MW solar park to power the operations of Saint-Gobain Romania.

Hungary’s Astrasun has announced plans to set up a 1.8 GW wafer factory in Romania, as well as cell and module production facilities with capacities of 1.5 GW and 1.2 GW, respectively.

US energy specialist Enphase will produce micro-inverters at a Flextronics factory in Timisoara, Romania, from the first quarter of 2023.