Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) Multiply Wind Energy in Romania despite Bureaucratic Hurdles

Eastern Europe has seen a massive Green Energy Boom driven by EU 20% Renewable Energy by 2020 Target.Romania has been no exception to their Region Wide Green Growth.In fact Romania is said to have the best Wind Energy Sites in the whole of Europe with a 14 GW potential.The Government has attracted big Wind Developers like Iberdola,Enel,CEZ,E.ON and others through a generous Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Scheme.Note the REC Subsidy Mechanism is a popular way of promoting Green Energy by making it mandatory for Utilities to procure a certain portion of their Energy Needs from Green Sources.They have to buy RECs from Trading Exchanges if they are unable to meet their targets.

Romania has set up a 16% Target by 2016 and RECs trade between 2.7-5.5 Euros/KwH making the IRRs attractive for Green Investors in Wind Energy.From around 76 MW  in 2008,Romania will install 600 MW in 2010 alone.Another 3600 MW is estimated to be installed by 2016,however there is skepticism given the limited grid capacity.Like Estonia ,Romania has been deluged by Wind Farm Applications.12000 MW of applications have been submitted though there remains significant bureaucratic hurdles.

Energy investors turn to Romanian wind – Reuters

Wind energy offers a clearer path to the potentially lucrative Romanian energy market for investors hesitant about partnering the state on conventional power projects.

But Bucharest has made renewable energy a priority as it tries to meet tough EU carbon emissions goals requiring 20 percent of power generation to come from renewables by 2020.

Czech power group CEZ, which quit two conventional energy projects earlier this year, will account for a big chunk of that total in 2010 when it completes half of its 1.1 billion euro, 600-MW wind park in southeastern Romania.

A number of other power companies, including Italy‘s Enel, Spain’s Iberdrola and German firms RWE and E.ON are willing to dot the dusty landscape of Dobrogea in southeast Romania with wind turbines.

The Romanian Wind Energy Association estimates some 3,600 MW of wind power could be installed in Romania by 2015, but other estimates are more conservative — taking into account a tricky permitting process and limited power grid capacity.