The PNIESC is an integrated framework that supports Romania in the transition to a low-carbon economy, in line with the European climate neutrality objectives for 2050. The document includes concrete measures and policies for all economic sectors, including industry, transport, energy and agriculture, to ensure a just and sustainable transition.

Regarding the share of renewable energy, the European Commission recommended that Romania increase its 2030 target to a minimum of 34% from renewable sources. As a result, the target in the updated PNIESC was revised from an initially proposed share of 27.9% to 30.7%. This new target was determined mainly on the basis of the Commission's recommendation to align national macroeconomic forecasts with those in the "Ageing Report: Economic and budgetary projections for the EU-28 (2016-2070)", in the context of the decommissioning of coal-fired capacity.

To achieve the proposed objective, Romania is considering the development of additional RES (renewable energy sources) capacities of approximately 6.9 GW compared to 2015. Achieving this target will require adequate funding from the EU, to ensure an appropriate infrastructure and flexibility of energy production from renewable sources. This can be ensured by installing reserve capacities on natural gas, storage solutions and advanced network management techniques. In addition, Romania has set itself the final target of a greater reduction in primary and final energy consumption by 2030. Thus, Romania is targeting a primary energy consumption of 32.3 Mtep, respectively a final energy consumption of 25.7 Mtep, thus achieving energy savings of 45.1%, compared to the primary consumption for the year 2030, respectively 40.4% for final energy consumption, compared to the PRIMES 2007 reference scenario[1]. Furthermore, in order to comply with the obligations set out in Article 7 of Directive (EU) 2018/2002 amending Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, Romania must achieve a cumulative value of new energy savings equivalent to 10.12 Mtep between 2021 and 2030.

Regarding the energy security dimension, the Commission recommended a description of support measures for achieving energy security objectives with a focus on diversifying energy sources and reducing energy dependence. In order to ensure energy security at national level, Romania has taken or is committed to taking measures to implement several projects in terms of resource diversification, namely:

  • Implementation of the legal framework necessary for final investment decisions in the exploitation of natural gas resources in the Black Sea area;
  • Adoption of the Decarbonization Plan proposed by the Oltenia Energy Complex, the main coal-fired electricity producer – with the aim of ensuring a sustainable transition towards low-carbon electricity production;
  • Diversification of uranium sources for Nuclearelectrica;
  • Extension of operating life and construction of new nuclear capacities;
  • Development of new SRE capacities and integration with other markets in the region as well as promotion of hydrogen use;
  • Development/optimization of the existing infrastructure of electricity and natural gas networks, with a positive impact on the capacity to take over energy produced from RES and on the level of interconnectivity;
  • Development of storage capacities.

Also, at the suggestion of the European Commission, Romania has defined ambitious objectives regarding the consolidation of the internal energy market. The first steps taken in this regard refer to the complete liberalization of the energy market with the adoption of support measures for vulnerable consumers and the fight against energy poverty. Through the updated version of the Plan, Romania also clarifies the assumed objective regarding the level of interconnection of the electricity transmission networks, which will reach at least 15.4% in 2030, based on a progress calendar of current and planned projects, managed by the electricity transmission and system operator.

[1] https://energy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2020-04/ro_final_necp_main_ro_0.pdf

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