All markets

Romania

With a cumulative score of 1.87, Romania ranks number 9 among emerging markets and number 34 in the global ranking.

  • Emerging markets
  • Europe

1.92 / 5

Power score


2.08 / 5

Transport score


1.52 / 5

Buildings score



Compare

Low-carbon strategy

Net-zero goal and strategy

There is no national net-zero target or strategy in Romania, but the country has committed to the European Union’s target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Romania has set a target of 31% renewables in final energy consumption by 2030 in its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). This target is due for revision as part of the EU Green Deal’s “Fit-for-55” legislative package, which aims to ensure that the EU can meet its 55% emissions reduction target by 2030. Romania met its 2020 target of 24% renewables in final energy consumption already in 2015, but progress in renewables growth has since stalled.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)

Romania is part of the EU’s joint nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement. The updated NDC, submitted to the UNFCCC in 2021, pledges to reduce emissions by 55% before the end of 2030, compared to 1990 levels.

Fossil fuel phase-out policy

Coal was set for a 2032 phase-out, according to Romania’s 2021 National Recovery and Resilience Plan. However, in 2022, the country brought forward the target to 2030. The plan outlines how Romania aims to spend EU funds available for a green and socially just recovery, following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Power

Power policy

The government established a green certificate (GC) scheme in 2008 to help achieve its 2020 target of 43% renewable electricity consumption. Poor design and an unexpected drop in power demand caused the scheme to become oversubscribed. To limit upward pressure on retail electricity prices, the government-imposed quota reductions. Successive reforms have failed to resolve the GC oversupply.

New policies have been established to support the 2030 renewable electricity target of 49%. In June 2018, Romania’s parliament approved the introduction of a net-metering scheme for small-scale renewables up to 100kW, which allows individuals to deduct the power they produce from their electricity bill. Residential solar is also supported through the “Casa Verde” grant program that finally kicked off in September 2020 following administrative delays. For utility-scale projects, Romania adopted regulations allowing corporate power purchase agreements for projects built after June 2020. Romania launched a tender in March 2022, for wind and solar projects, with a total budget of €458 millionand capacity of 950MW.

The declining economics of Romanian coal plants was likely a deciding factor when setting the 2030 phase-out target. The carbon price under the European Emissions Trading Scheme has become a heavy financial burden for Romania’s main lignite power producer, CE Oltenia. In 2020, the company was unable to pay for its emissions allowances and was granted a rescue loan by the Romanian state. The EU set conditions for this loan required CE Oltenia to present a plan to move away from lignite generation.

Power policies

Renewable energy auction
Feed-in Tariff
Import tax incentives
Net Metering
Renewable energy target
VAT incentives

Power prices and costs

Romania's power prices have historically been lower than those of neighboring Hungary and Bulgaria, although they have been steadily rising at 1-2% per year due to higher carbon prices and an aging coal and nuclear fleet. Overall power prices in Romania soared in 2021, whereas demand grew modestly. Industrial, commercial and residential prices grew at an average of 13% whereas wholesale prices plummeted 47% to $85.31 in 2021. Prices had temporarily dipped in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic but rose quickly again in 2021. Global gas prices influence Romanian power prices, as around 20% of the country’s electricity is generated from gas.

Loading...

Power market

Romania has gradually shifted toward a liberalized energy sector. Consumers have been able to switch electricity suppliers since 2007, while price liberalization was finalized for non-household consumers in 2014 and household consumers in 2018. The distribution and retail divisions have transitioned to being predominantly privately owned. Major European utility companies CEZ, Energias de Portugal (EDP) and Enel have been present in Romania since the early 2000’s. However, CEZ has since divested all of its Romania assets. Enel, which in 2015 also considered exiting the Romanian market, has announced that it will instead sell off minority stakes in its Romanian subsidiaries.

Romania caps electricity prices (extended until March 2023). Households with monthly consumption of under 500kWh receive a subsidy besides the price cap. The scheme has been expanded for almost all non-household consumers (except large electricity consumers who have benefited from Ordinance 81 on a state aid scheme approved by the European Commission). The government has extended favorable loans to major lignite producer Oltenia to pay for its emissions allowances. The European Commission approved a restructuring aid of up to 2.7 billion euros.

Installed Capacity (in MW)

2012201420162018202005K10K15K20K MW

Electricity Generation (in GWh)

20122014201620182020020K40K60K GWh
Loading...

Utility privatisation

Which segments of the power sector are open to private participation?


Generation
Transmission
Retail

Wholesale power market

Does the country have a wholesale power market?


Available
Not available

Doing business and barriers

Limited grid capacity, which has historically slowed renewables project delivery, has exacerbated the country’s green certificate oversupply, by not allowing for exports to neighboring countries. In addition, renewables developers have faced problems relating to land and planning due to a lack of transparency, uncertainty around ownership and red tape. Romania’s program for residential solar grants was officially launched in February 2019, but it took until September 2020 before a single installation was completed through the program. The administrative issues of the grant scheme have led to financial difficulties for several small-scale solar installers. Current political instability in the region may also hinder renewable energy developments.

Currency of PPAs

Are PPAs (eg. corporate PPAs and all other types) signed in or indexed to U.S. Dollars or Euro?


Available
Not available

Bilateral power contracts

Can a C&I (Commercial and Industrial) customer sign a long-term contract (PPA) for clean energy?


Available
Not available

Fossil fuel price distortions - Subsidies

Does the government influence the wholesale price of fossil fuel (used by thermal power plants) down through subsidies?


Available
Not available

Fossil fuel price distortions - Taxes

Does the government influence the wholesale price of fossil fuel (used by thermal power plants) up through taxes or carbon prices?


Available
Not available

Transport

EV market

Electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, made up 7% of new sales in 2021, compared to just 1% in 2019 . The fleet of plug-in hybrid and battery electric passenger vehicles totaled less than 20,000 cars in 2021.

Romania targets 14% renewable energy in the transport sector’s final energy consumption in 2030, in line with EU-wide renewables targets. That is to be achieved mainly through electrification and some biofuel blending, according to the country’s energy and climate plan. The plan estimates that up to 700,000 plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles might be needed by 2030 to achieve the target, together with a total of 600,000 electric vehicle chargers.

Romania has a very generous grant scheme for EVs that runs from 2020 to 2025. The grant for battery electric vehicles reaches up to €4,450 (20,000 leu) and €1.100 (5,000 leu) for a plug-in hybrid. A subvention of €10,000 is granted for the purchase of a new EV to which 6,500 leu can be added for scrapping vehicles that are over eight years old. Funding covers a maximum of 50% from the value of the purchased car. Cars with CNG or LPG systems receive an increased eco-bonus of 1,500 leu. Romania applies EU fuel economy standards. These limit average emissions across a manufacturer's entire vehicle production. For passenger vehicles, these are 130 gCO2/km between 2012 and 2019, and 95 gCO2/km in 2020 and 2021. Both targets will be introduced gradually. In 2020, a manufacturer’s 5% most polluting cars are excluded, while in 2021, all vehicles sold are taken into account.

EV policy

The government has yet to implement any substantive policy support in this sector.

Transport policies

Electric vehicle target
Electric vehicle purchase grant or loan incentive
VAT incentives for EV
Import tax incentives for EV
EV charging infrastructure target
EV charging infrastructure support

Fuel economy standards

Does the country have a fuel economy standard in place?


Available
Not available

Buildings

Buildings market

Some 35% of residential buildings are heated with natural gas, while another third of homes are warmed with biomass. Around 15% of residential heat demand is provided by district heating in Romania. In the capital, Bucharest, district heat supplies two-thirds of the residents.

Energy efficiency policy

Does the country have a national energy efficiency plan?


Available
Not available

Energy efficiency policy

Are there minimum energy performance standards for buildings?


Available
Not available

Energy efficiency incentives

Is there access to loans or grants for energy efficiency measures (i.e. Wall or loft insulation or double glazing)?


Available
Not available

Buildings policy

Romania targets 33% renewable energy in heating/cooling final energy consumption in 2030. The country’s 2020 renewable energy target for the heating sector was 22%, in line with EU requirements. However, renewables already supplied 26% of heat in 2009 when the target was set and there has been no significant progress since. Romania adopted the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings in 2020, which sets minimum energy performance standards on new buildings and buildings undergoing major renovations.

Romania subsidizes energy efficiency improvements in buildings through its “Casa Verde” green homes scheme. Under the scheme, grants are available for residential heat pump installations as well as insulation improvements. The grant scheme has been running in various forms since 2010. The grant is for up to $16,000(70,000 leu), or 60% of the cost for installing a heat pump, together with other related efficiency upgrades, solar panel and EV charging installations. The subsidy available specifically for covering the cost of a heat pump is a maximum of 8,000 leu ($1,900), but the grant does not cover air-sourced heat pumps (reversible air conditioners).

Buildings policies

Low-carbon heat target/roadmap
Tax credits
Boiler scrappage schemes
Heat pumps purchase grants/loans incentive
Ban on boilers: new build homes
Ban on boilers: all homes

Additional insights
from BNEF

Explore more detailed information on global commodity markets and the disruptive technologies driving the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Read more

Powered by

Energy Transition Factbooks

This marks the 11th anniversary of Climatescope, BNEF’s annual assessment of energy transition opportunities. The project has been expanded to include activity not just in clean power but in the decarbonization of the transportation and buildings sectors.

Climatescope 2022 print report cover

Power Transition Factbook

Download factbook
Climatescope 2022 print report cover

Electrified Heating Factbook

Download factbook

Stay up to date

Subscribe to our mailing list to get the latest news about Climatescope directly in your inbox.


Results
Sectors
PowerTransportBuildings
About
Contact

© 2023 Climatescope. View license and Privacy policy