Could you provide an overview of EDPR’s activities in Romania and what led you to invest in the country?

EDPR has been active in Romania since 2008, with a current installed capacity of 521 MW spread across seven wind and six solar projects. As the third-largest producer in Romania and the largest Iberian investor, we were initially drawn to the country due to its significant potential for renewable energy and its high dependency on coal. We also saw that the renewable energy sector in Romania was likely to see developments in order to meet the targets set by the European Union for its member countries.

What has been your experience with the local business environment during your more than 10 years of operation in Romania?

Although the renewable legislation in Romania was initially supported by the green certificates mechanism, it collapsed in mid-2013 due to regulatory changes. This halted our investment strategy in Romania. However, we welcomed the acknowledgement by the Romanian Government in 2017 of the difficulties faced by renewable energy investors, leading to the approval of GEO 24/2017, later endorsed by Law 124/2018. Despite good intentions, the results were not as positive as envisioned due to the lack of liquidity in the OPCOM platform, the only place where green certificates can be sold. Therefore, further efforts are needed to address the situation.

Given the current circumstances, what solutions do you see to stabilize the regulatory ecosystem and encourage investment in renewables?

We propose that the Romanian Government develops an alternative support scheme to cover both new projects and existing investments reliant on green certificates. We have suggested the development of a feed-in premium scheme, which would provide clear visibility on future returns for current installed capacity and resolve the issues we face. Moreover, the recent completion of a study on the implementation of contracts for differences (CFD) is a positive sign for investors and renewable energy development in Romania.

EDPR is already active in 14 markets worldwide. What is your growth strategy going forward?

Our growth strategy is based on three main pillars: investing in markets with potential for renewable energy and regulatory transparency, consolidating our presence in existing markets, and exploring opportunities in new geographies and technologies, including offshore wind, photovoltaic solar projects, and energy storage. We recently opened a battery-based energy storage facility in Romania to manage the energy generated. Technical innovation is key to our activities, and we will continue to invest in projects like this.

How do you see renewables fitting into the energy mix of the future and what role will EDPR play in it?

At EDPR, we believe that the future of energy is electric, clean, affordable, and reliable. We are committed to actively contributing to the decarbonization of the economy by reducing our CO2 emissions by 90% compared to 2005 by 2030. This will be achieved primarily through generation from renewable sources and by becoming a coal-free company. Our power production of 8.4 TWh of clean electricity in 2018 avoided almost 6 tons of CO2 emissions. We have ambitious growth objectives going forward, planning to develop another 7GWh in the next three years, aiming to maintain our leadership position in this sector and mitigate the impact of climate change as much as possible.