Country’s first auction of contract-for-difference support is set to spur 1,000MW of onshore wind and 1,000MW of solar PV following Albania success.
Romania is set to launch its first auction this month for a contract-for-difference (CfD) support scheme that will help strengthen investment in renewable energy. Winning bidders will be announced in November.
Onshore wind power projects and solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a total capacity of 2,000 MW will be supported for 15 years under the scheme, with details of the auction to be made available through the Romanian Ministry of Energy’s website.
Romania has worked with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to create the necessary legal and regulatory framework for the CfD support scheme and to implement the competitive tender process for the first round of auctions in 2023.
The two-way CfD scheme insentivises investments in renewable energy by providing revenue stability to developers and strengthening the market integration of renewables. If successful, the auctions will be the first round of a multi-year plan, which envisages the award of CfDs for a total of 10GW of onshore wind-power and solar-PV generation capacity by 2030.
Mark Davis, EBRD regional head of Romania and Bulgaria, said: “This new CfD scheme awarded through auctions is critical to unlocking private-sector investment and to ensuring the transition to a resilient and green energy sector. We thank the Ministry of Energy and all stakeholders in Romania engaged alongside us in this undertaking.”
Albania success at CfD auctions
The auctions in Romania follow a similar programme in Albania this summer, which has announced the results of its first utility-scale auction. Three winners will now build more than 200MW of onshore wind capacity.
The successful bidders are:
Total Eren with a bid of €44.88/MWh for a capacity of 75 MW;
Guris with a bid of €74/MWh for 74.88 MW; and
Verbund with a bid of €74.95/MWh for 72.6 MW.
Total Eren’s bid reflects a new record-low price for the country and the Western Balkans region.
Gianpiero Nacci, EBRD director, sustainable business and infrastructure, said: “Albania has made remarkable progress towards meeting its renewable energy targets and implementing auctions. We are very pleased to have supported the first wind auction in the country with bidder-selected sites and look forward to launching the 300 MW solar auction. This success is a game changer for Albania, a testament to what can be achieved with the right policy framework and a government committed to delivering on their renewable energy targets.”
Albania has led the way in the region by successfully running renewable energy auctions to accelerate the use of renewable energy. Since 2020, Albania has awarded 240 MW of solar energy, with record low prices in the region. It has also awarded contracts for 222.48MW of onshore wind. A further 300 MW of solar power will be awarded in the coming months. This brings the total capacity supported by the EBRD through the Renewable Energy Programme to over 460MW, which reflects about 20 per cent of the country’s current total transmission grid capacity.
Work is also underway in Albania to assess the country’s offshore wind potential, with the intention of further diversifying the energy mix.
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