The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Romania to support the rollout of new renewable power auctions in the country.
Under the terms of the agreement, the EBRD will help Romania implement a second round of renewable energy auctions by the end of 2025, as well as developing a support scheme, and related auctions, for storage systems. The EBRD will also help deliver “regulatory reforms” required to aid in the adoption of storage systems across the Romanian energy grid.
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The two parties previously collaborated on Romania’s first renewable energy auction, which included 500MW of solar PV and 1GW of onshore wind. The EBRD supported a contract for difference (CfD) mechanism in this auction, and Romania has already announced that it expects the second auction to seek 2GW of new solar capacity.
“This partnership will facilitate the creation of a modern energy system, capable of meeting Romania’s energy needs and fostering investments in renewable sources, including through the initiation of a new round of auctions for capacities totalling 3,500 MW,” said Romanian energy minister Sebastian Burduja. “It represents a decisive step toward ensuring the energy stability and resilience that are more crucial than ever.”
Total investment across both Romanian renewable energy auction rounds is estimated at €3 billion (US$3.3 billion), with funding coming from the EU’s Modernisation Fund. The EBRD has already heavily invested into the Romanian energy mix, committing over €180 million towards nearly 1GW of new renewable energy capacity in Romania, bringing its total investment into the country up to nearly €11.5 billion.
The EBRD noted that its investments had also helped mobilise “almost” €1 billion of private and public finance in the Romanian power sector, and EBRD head of Romania Victoria Zinchuk said that the bank was keen to “contribute to scaling up private sector investments in the sector”.
The importance of combining private and public investment into the Eastern European energy sector was a common topic of conversation at last month’s Large Scale Solar Central Eastern Europe event in Warsaw. In the days leading up to the event, Alastair Hammond, CEO of Czech renewables developer Rezolv Energy, told PV Tech that Romania is “certainly an attractive investment destination” for solar investors, and expects the country’s solar sector to grow considerably in the coming years.
