Romania to launch CfD green power auction - Energy Ministry

March 12 (SeeNews) - Romania will soon open its first auction of renewable energy projects under a contract-for-difference (CfD) scheme recently approved by the European Commission, with a maximum price of 91 euro ($99.5) per MWh for solar projects and 93 euro per MWh for wind projects, energy minister Sebastian Burduja said.

The 3 billion euro scheme, approved by the Commission in early March, is expected to be approved by the European Union's Modernisation Fund by the end of the month, Burduja said during a press conference on Monday.

Romania is the first country that uses the Modernisation Fund to finance its CfD scheme, according to the minister.

The plan involves two auctions, with the first one scheduled for this year, offering 2 GW of projects: 1 GW allocated for onshore wind and another 1 GW for solar energy. In 2025, the second auction will increase to 3 GW, evenly divided between 1.5 GW for onshore wind projects and 1.5 GW for solar energy projects, Burduja said.

The CfD scheme enables the price of electricity to be fixed at a predetermined level for 15 years.

Under this arrangement, beneficiaries receive compensation payments if electricity prices fall below the agreed-upon threshold. Conversely, if prices exceed this threshold, recipients are obligated to reimburse any surplus to the Romanian authorities.

Romania added 624 megawatts (MW) of new electricity generation capacity in 2023, marking nearly a tenfold increase compared to 2022, the energy ministry said in January.

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