The Romanian Wind Energy Association (RWEA) is Launching the First Code of Good Practice for Renewable Energy

To support the new wave of investments, the Romanian Wind Energy Association (RWEA) is launching the first Code of Good Practice aimed for clean energy companies, the associated value chain, as well as public authorities. The event will take place on May 26, in a hybrid system – physically at the Marriott Hotel and streamed online – in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Energy, Romanian Senate, ANRE, BNR, Competition Council, Transelectrica and international organizations such as WindEurope and the Polish Wind Energy Association (PWEA).

The purpose of the Code is to guide investors in the process of developing wind and solar parks in Romania, from obtaining permits and engaging the community to grid connection and repowering. It also emhpasizes the need to develop a national production and supply chain, alongside affiliated services. At the same time, through this document RWEA extends a colaborative hand to public authorities and proposes way of integrating the EU energy transition agenda into Romania’s national plans.

“Wind energy, with more than 3,000 MW installed, has become one of the major energy sources in the country and last year accounted for almost 14% of the total energy produced in Romania. But there is much more left to be done. As of 2021, several new renewable projects have been announced in Romania by different companies, and the pipeline is expected to grow significantly.” stated RWEA Board President Carlo Pignoloni.

The National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) plan published by the Ministry of Energy commits Romania to a capacity of 6.9 GW of green energy to be installed by 2030, in addition to the 4.5 GW already in place. According to the Plan, the total investment needed for this transformation process amounts to over EUR 22 bn (including associated investments in the grid and conventional capacities), an order of magnitude that turns clean energy investment into a pillar of economic development and industrial strategy. The previous wave brought Romania associated investments of over EUR 8 bn. According to the Code, however, at that time the Romanian business environment was not ready to absorb a significant share of the value created – development, operation and maintenance were generally the responsibility of local actors, but most components were imported.

The industry has now reached a point of maturity, and a key objective of the new wave is the development of a national supply chain. On the one hand, existing parks need increasingly complex maintenance and are gearing up for repowering. In addition, Romania needs significant resources (financial, human and technical) to install new capacities. The country has a training center for wind turbine technicians in Constanța, which has produced numerous workers (onshore and offshore) serving both the national and other European markets. In addition, according to the Code, in the case of sustained development of offshore wind energy in the Black Sea, Romania has a major advantage due to the port of Constanța, a potentially useful hub for equipment tranportation and shipping.

The launch of the Code of Good Practice can be watched online on May 26^th between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm EET, if you are interested please register here.