Romania

Romania has set a ceiling price of €91 ($99.33)/MWh for solar energy in its first renewables auction. A legal analyst tells pv magazine that this strike price is a good level for the nation’s first contract-for-difference (CfD) auction, but warns that certain aspects of the draft legislation could significantly affect the bankability of the scheme.

TeraPlast SA has secured financing for 4.56 MW of solar, with approximately one-quarter of the project’s total value obtained through non-refundable financing from the Romanian government’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The project, which will include a 920 kW storage facility, is set to be completed in June.

The European Commission has approved €3 billion ($3.9 billion) for solar and onshore wind projects in Romania, with two-way contracts-for-difference through competitive bidding procedures.

Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has reaffirmed its commitment to hydrogen car development, PT PLN has started producing green hydrogen in Indonesia, and OMV Petrom has agreed to build 55 MW of green hydrogen production capacity in Romania.

Romania’s Ministry of Energy has published a draft order outlining a move to an auction-based grid-connection process for solar projects above 1 MW in size. The change, which is currently subject to public consultation, could be implemented from January 2025.

Scientists in Romania have found that extreme dust conditions may cause losses of 45.35% and 38.14% in maximum power and short-circuit current under outdoor conditions for different kinds of solar modules. They warned that, if the effects of climate change escalate, resulting in less rainfall and more frequent sandstorm events originating from the Saharan region, extreme scenarios are very likely to occur in Europe.

A latecomer to the European PV party, Romania’s embrace of clean energy means it is perfectly placed to ride the wave of urgently ramped grid investment being rolled out by the European Union.

Electrica SA has asked engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors to apply for its new 27 MW solar tender before the end of January.

Enphase says it plans to let go of 10% of its employees, in addition to shutting down contract manufacturing in the United States and Romania.

Europe is witnessing a surge in power purchase agreements (PPAs). Over the past four years, the number of European PPA transactions has trebled. More than 180 deals were signed in 2022 alone and the trend is expected to continue, especially for solar projects.