RPIA - Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association

📢 Updated National Energy Strategy The Ministry of Energy has just unveiled the updated Energy Strategy of Romania 2025-2035, with a 2050 Outlook, following a public consultation process. 🔄 Key updates: 🔹Increased RES targets: 38.3% by 2030 (up from 36.2%) and 44% by 2035 (up from 41.1%). 🔹Phasing out coal: Coal-based production will end by 2032, to be replaced by gas and solar energy. 🔹Prosumer sector: Target set at 2.5 GW by 2030, but this figure is expected to be surpassed by early 2025. 🔹Offshore wind: New target of 3 GW by 2035, likely to be a major contributor to the 44% goal. 🔹Storage: Significant increase from 240 MW by 2025 to at least 2 GW by 2030, through batteries and hydro-pumping. This, along with Edge Nodes and expanded cross-border transfer capacity, aims to ease current network blockages. Despite these advancements, the 2050 RES target has been reduced from 86.1% to 73%, and the strategy continues to rely heavily on gas and nuclear energy, which involve long-term investments. While the revised strategy shows improvements over the July draft, the RES objectives still fall short of the Commission's and industry's recommendations. The study "Renewable Energy in Romania: Roadmap to 2030," conducted by RPIA - Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association, RWEA - Romanian Wind Energy Association and Deloitte, suggests that the country should aim for a 44.4% target, translating to 11.1 GW of solar energy: 6.1 GW in photovoltaic parks and 5 GW in prosumers—double the current target for this segment. 📊⚠️

🥇 Exciting Sponsor Announcement! We’re delighted to welcome PPC Renewables - ΔΕΗ Ανανεώσιμες Romania as the Main Sponsor of the 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 2024! ⚡As a leading force in the renewable energy sector, PPC Renewables, a wholly owned subsidiary of the PPC Group, is committed to harnessing the power of nature to advance green electricity generation and energy storage projects. With plans to double its operational renewable energy portfolio in Romania, PPC is poised to elevate the Group's total installed capacity in operation to an impressive 5.3 GW. 👉 Join us at the summit to explore the forefront of energy innovation. Visit our website for tickets and partnership opportunities: powershiftsummit.rpia.ro.

🌞🎶RPIA @ Kuriozum Music Festival We are delighted to announce that RPIA - Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association will be present at the inaugural #Kuriozum Music Festival from August 9-11 in Covasna County. Set in the historic Mikes estate in Zăbala, this unique event blends music, visual art, and gastronomy. ✨ Over the three days, the festival will feature performances by renowned musicians, including Alexandru Tomescu, Eduard Kunz, Félix Lajkó, the Sárközy Lajos Quartet, Sânziana Mircea, Ştefan Cazacu, Róbert Sinha, Lakatos Mónika's trio, and Taraful Haidouks (Caliu). The program includes classical, gypsy, folk, film music, pop-classic, and ballads, all set against spectacular natural landscapes. 🌳 Coinciding with the Perseids meteor shower, the festival also features unique observation activities led by astronomer Csere Mihály. 🌠🔭 Join us for a magical blend of music, art, and nature. 🌞🎶✨

📣 CfD Scheme Updates for Renewables! The ministerial order for Romania's CfD scheme has been officially published. Here’s what you need to know: 🔹 First Auction: Launching at the end of this year, it will allocate 1,000 MW for onshore wind and 500 MW for photovoltaics, totaling 1,500 MW. Projects must have a minimum capacity of 5 MW. 🔹 Second Auction: Scheduled for the end of Q3 next year, offering 3,500 MW—1,500 MW for wind and 2,000 MW for photovoltaics. Under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Romania aims to deploy 5,000 MW of wind and solar power through this CfD scheme, ensuring fixed energy prices for 15 years. The first auction will set maximum prices at €78/MWh for photovoltaics and €82/MWh for wind, with competitive bidding expected to drive these prices lower. ☀️🌬️ We look forward to seeing the developments as this initiative progresses.🌟

⚡️ ANRE Announces New Methodology for Electrical Network Capacity Allocation! The National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) has revamped the methodology for allocating electrical network capacities to connect energy production units. This change is driven by the surge in new projects, mainly from renewable sources, surpassing the current transport and distribution systems' integration capacity. With imediate effect new provisions are in place: 🔹Introduce a 5% financial guarantee for technical connection permits for new sites with capacities over 1 MW, regardless of reinforcement needs. The guarantee must be provided before issuance of the ATR. 🔹Offer a 12-month extension with an additional 5% bond if external factors delay building permits. 🔹Update reinforcement computation to ensure fairness by considering valid prior ATRs. Effective January 1, 2026, the new regulation will: 🔹 Replace the current reinforcement participation model with an auction-based mechanism for allocating network capacity.  🔹Apply to production/consumption sites with/without new storage facilities, with installed power ≥ 5 MW. 🔹Allocate funds from auctions to network operators for essential electricity network development. 💡 This is a significant step towards accommodating the growing influx of renewable energy projects and enhancing the electrical infrastructure's capacity and its a result of intense advocacy of the association over the past years.

📢 Important Update from the Romanian Competition Council The Romanian Competition Council has released a notice providing information on the review process for foreign direct investments (FDI), initiated for security or public order reasons, according to the attached statement. 🔍 Foreign and EU investors planning to make FDI or new investments in Romania must submit an authorization request to the Secretariat of the Commission for the Examination of Foreign Direct Investments (CEISD), a specialized body within the Competition Council. Key Points: 📌The request must comply with the Regulation approved by GD no. 1326/2022 and include the necessary information. 📌An examination fee of €10,000 is required. 📌Investments targeting sectors specified in CSAT Decision no. 73/2012 and exceeding €2 million are subject to CEISD approval. 📌Investments below €2 million may also be reviewed if they impact security or public order. CEISD will issue opinions on whether to authorize, conditionally authorize, or reject the investment requests. Understanding these updates is crucial for navigating Romania's investment landscape effectively! 📊

🔍Yesterday, President Klaus Iohannis requested a re-examination of the draft law (PL-x 255/2024). This draft includes an amendment that mandates prosumers to ensure energy storage by installing new equipment (batteries) using their own funds. President Iohannis emphasized that while ensuring energy storage is crucial, the current provisions are "inconvenient and inapplicable." This approach risks discouraging the adoption of photovoltaic panels and could hinder our progress toward promoting renewable energy solutions. 🚨 RPIA's concerns in this matter have been echoed, and we are hopeful for a balanced solution that addresses these challenges effectively. 🌱🔋

🚀 SolarPower Europe has released an essential position paper - Implementing the Reformed Electricity Market Design. The new rules aim to propel the EU solar market from 269 GW in 2023 to an ambitious 750 GW by 2030, aligning with REPowerEU targets. 🎯 🚩 EU national governments must now implement these new Electricity Market rules to achieve these goals. This paper is a one-stop-shop for understanding the technical aspects and recommendations from the solar sector: 🔹 Contracts for Difference 🔹 Power Purchase Agreements 🔹 Energy Sharing 🔹 Dedicated Metering Devices 🔹 Grid Connection Procedures & Hosting Capacity Maps 🔹 Flexible Grid Connection Agreements 🔹 Anticipatory Investments 🔹 Flexibility Needs Assessments It's a comprehensive guide for understanding and navigating the new Electricity Market rules: https://lnkd.in/gGJwMqhv.

🌟 It's time to reunite in full force! Like clockwork every two years, RPIA - Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association orchestrates an event to reunite us all. 🤝 This year, we extend the invitation to all representatives of the energy sector, and key industries for a sustainable energy transition: IT, automotive, agriculture, and more. Join us at the 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭, organized together with RWEA - Romanian Wind Energy Association and in partnership with SolarPower Europe and WindEurope. 📅 Mark your calendars for 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 29-30 at the Globalworth Nord Events Center. Expect two days filled with meetings, panels, workshops, and exhibitions. 🚀 👉 We'll be joined by CEOs of major European associations and companies, plus distinguished guests from the European Commission, the Romanian Government, and ANRE. For partnerships, tickets, and updates, follow us at: https://lnkd.in/d_y9TDYu. Let’s connect, innovate, and energize the future together. See you there! ⚡🌞

🌍 Press Release: Urgent Request for Fair Access to Contracts for Difference (CfD) Mechanism The renewable energy associations RPIA - Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association and RWEA - Romanian Wind Energy Association have issued a new press release urgently requesting that the authorities ensure fair access for the photovoltaic and wind industry to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) mechanism. 🔓 Representing producers, developers, service providers, and equipment suppliers in the renewable energy sector, with a total installed power of over 5.5 GW, the two associations are calling for immediate action. Recent statements about the intention to alter the fair allocation originally proposed for the first auction under the CfD mechanism (1 GW solar, 1 GW wind) based on erroneous assumptions—specifically, the existence of projects financed from both the PNRR and the Modernization Fund—only reinforce these incorrect assumptions and compromise one of our few chances as a country to meet our European commitments. Moreover, such a late change, shortly before the launch, jeopardizes the viability and success of the entire scheme. 🚫⚖️ The RES associations stress the critical need for authorities to maintain a fair and balanced allocation to guarantee the success of renewable energy initiatives and to achieve national and European energy targets.