Energy #21 Legislative focus

Romania published a broad package of secondary legislation implementing Law no. 121/2024 on offshore wind energy. Together, the new acts regulate the concession, exploration, development, construction, reception, operation and decommissioning stages of future projects in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea.

Government Decision no. 688/2026 establishes the competitive procedure for awarding offshore wind perimeters. Bidders will be assessed on both technical and financial criteria, with 60 points allocated to the technical component and 40 points to the financial component. Concession agreements will be concluded for 30 years and may be extended once, for a maximum of ten years.

The Ministry of Energy also established the procedure for obtaining exploration permits after the concession agreement has been concluded. Concessionaires will be required to submit a technical exploration programme, obtain the relevant sectoral authorisations and provide quarterly reports and the data collected during exploration.

Separate ACROO acts regulate the approval of project development, operational safety during exploration, construction and operation, reception of completed works and decommissioning. The development approval may be issued for an entire project or for individual stages, while construction must begin within 12 months after the approval is granted.

A joint ministerial plan also provides for a digital one-stop shop intended to integrate concession, permitting, licensing, grid connection, operation and decommissioning procedures. Full implementation is estimated to take between 24 and 36 months.

The package gives prospective developers a clearer view of the documents, technical reviews, guarantees and approvals required throughout the project lifecycle. It also allows companies to begin estimating permitting costs, institutional interfaces and future compliance requirements.

However, the framework does not launch the first concession procedure. The auction timetable, detailed bidding documents and final conditions applicable to individual perimeters still need to be published. Information provided during the concession procedure on grid capacity and connection options will also be indicative and will not reserve capacity for successful bidders.

The digital one-stop shop is a future administrative improvement rather than an immediately available facility. Initial projects may therefore pass through the existing permitting system before the integrated platform becomes operational.

Four ministries adopted a joint methodology for designing and implementing programmes that will support the replacement of inefficient heating equipment using forest biomass or solid fossil fuels.

The future programmes may cover equipment more than ten years old or with an efficiency below 65%, used by households, social buildings owned by local authorities and heat generation units within district heating systems.

Eligible solutions will be selected through a technical feasibility and economic assessment covering a 15-year period. Sustainable biomass equipment may be financed where other eligible technologies are not technically feasible or economically justified. Autonomous fossil fuel boilers remain excluded, although certain gas-fuelled stoves and micro-cogeneration systems may qualify.

Support levels will depend on the beneficiary and financing programme. Funding provided through the Social Climate Fund may cover up to 100% of eligible costs for households facing the highest levels of energy vulnerability and lacking the ability to provide co-financing.

The methodology creates the basis for future demand for heating equipment, installation services, district heating modernisation and connection works. It is relevant for equipment manufacturers, distributors, installers, district heating operators and companies involved in local energy infrastructure.

Budgets, eligible costs, reference prices, economic thresholds and application procedures will be established through the guide applicable to each financing scheme. The actual commercial effect will therefore depend on how quickly these programmes are launched and funded.

The inclusion of district heating units expands the potential scope beyond individual households, but the economic assessment criteria applicable to these projects will be established separately through the relevant funding programme.

The Ministry of Transport amended the e-Mobility RO and e-MOVE RO state aid schemes, changing the conditions applicable to electric vehicle charging projects.

Under e-Mobility RO, a new category of integrated projects will support charging infrastructure combined with on-site renewable electricity generation and storage. Eligible projects must include all three components, and the storage system must absorb at least 75% of the electricity produced annually by the directly connected renewable installation.

The scheme also revises eligible locations and technical capacity requirements. Charging infrastructure must be located directly on the motorways, express roads and national roads identified in the Applicant Guide. Grid connection documents must be available before the financing contract is signed, and beneficiaries must conduct annual energy audits throughout the project durability period.

The e-MOVE RO amendments clarify the conditions applicable to charging points intended for company fleets and projects combining private and public use. Storage is now expressly included among eligible costs for the relevant submeasure, while the geographical eligibility rules and scoring methodology have also been corrected.

The changes provide additional financing options for operators planning charging hubs supported by local renewable generation and storage. They also clarify the treatment of projects serving company fleets, employees, contractors and the general public.

At the same time, applicants face stricter project preparation requirements. Site eligibility, charging capacity, grid connection documentation and the relationship between generation and storage must be established before contracting.

The two schemes remain distinct and apply different technical and geographical conditions. Companies should therefore avoid assuming that a requirement introduced under one scheme automatically applies to the other.