Romania to add 400MW in wind this year amid planned incentive cuts

Newsroom 13/05/2013 | 14:38

Around 400MW of fresh wind capacities will go online this year, despite the uncertainty regarding the reduction of the green certificate support scheme, said on Monday Adrian Borotea, Corporate Affairs director at CEZ utility, during the Focus on Energy 2013 event organized by Business Review.

Borotea said the lingering debate on the reduction of the support scheme has seen investments shrink or freeze altogether.

“The forecasts for 2013 made by the Association of Wind Producers states that around 400MW of wind installations will become operational this year, in spite of the legal changes, as they are in advanced building stages,” said Borotea.

He added that wind energy has been the main driver for the 50 percent drop in electricity prices registered on the OPCOM market.

Zoltan Nagy-Bege, member of the regulatory board at ANRE, commented that there are two initiatives for the reduction of the support scheme.

ANRE aims to cut the number of green certificates for technologies that are over-compensated and have a higher Internal Return Rate. The cuts in solar, wind and small hydro would apply starting next year for projects that become operational from 2014. He added the emergency ordinance of the Ministry of Energy, which essentially suspends some green certificates up to 2017, is enforced for projects completed by year end.

“If this bill (of the Energy Ministry) had been enforced from January, it would have been better for the market, instead of having four and a half months of discussions, during which many investors left the country,” said Nagy-Bege, who stressed this is his opinion as expert and not as member of the energy regulator ANRE.

Romania reached over 2,000MW of incentivized wind capacities by March, according to grid operator Transelectrica. Under the current regulation, wind gets two certificates through to 2017 and one after. This scheme that runs for 15 years ensures the recovery of the investment in ten to twelve years, according to energy players.

The weak demand for green certificates has sent prices down to EUR 42 – EUR 45. One certificate can trade for the maximum price of EUR 59.

Ovidiu Posirca

BR Magazine | Latest Issue

Download PDF: Business Review Magazine March (II) 2024 Issue

The March (II) 2024 issue of Business Review Magazine is now available in digital format, featuring the main cover story titled “BAT DBS Romania Hub: A Vibrant New Office For An Employee-Centric
Newsroom | 27/03/2024 | 17:32
Advertisement Advertisement
Close ×

We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.

Accept & continue