Romania aims renewable energy target of 27.9pct by 2030 (ANRE)

AGERPRES special correspondent Nicoleta Gherasi reports: Romania's target for renewable energy sources for 2030 is 27.9pct and we hope that the European Commission accepts a target below the average level of Europe, said Zoltan Nagy-Bege, Vice President of the Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), at the WindEurope Conference & Exhibition, in Bilbao. "Our number one priority, as a country, is to finalize the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plans and to negotiate with the European Commission the target for renewable energy sources that we assume and we intend to meet by 2030, that is 27.9pct. It is very difficult to believe that this will be the final figure, given Romania's potential. We have already exceeded the 26pct target. Should we only aim at two extra percentages, should the European Commission accept a target well below the average level of Europe, given that so far we have been above average! At the same time we must also see the particular situation of Romania. We had a rather advantageous support scheme from the point of view of investors in renewables: a green certification scheme that currently has an effect in the final energy price of 12.5 euro per MWh to most consumers. There are some heavy energy users exempted or who benefited from a reduction in the contribution. In a country where the living standard is not very high and the utility costs have a much larger share of the budget than in other countries, you also need to analyze this social impact. This is what Romania intends, at least in the first period, by 2030, that the measures be milder. (...) A study shows that in 2024, in Romania, investing in wind and solar power stations without support will also be possible. If investments are cost-effective without support schemes, the situation will be different for consumers," Bege explained. In her turn, Claudia Brandus, president of the Romanian Wind Energy Association - RWEA, stressed that all European states are taking decarbonisation measures, and renewable energy has a leading role in this process.AGERPRES (RO - editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Bogdan Gabaroi, editor: Simona Iacob)