Grid connection of renewables in Romania – challenges, endeavors, solutions
Grid connection in Romania is mainly regulated by ANRE Order no. 59/2013 approving the public grid connection regulation (the “Connection Regulation”), which has already been amended twice in 2022 (under ANRE Orders no. 17/2022 and 81/2022) and will soon be amended for a third time. Hence, the legal regime governing grid connection is quite a carousel of changes and reshapes.
Some of the most typical challenges for renewable projects in nearly every jurisdiction refer to the grid connection and these challenges are often bi-directional, as they are caused not only by the uncontrollable/unpredictable nature of the renewable sources but also by the shortage of the existing grid infrastructure. While the renewable technologies have quickly evolved, truth is the grid infrastructure is struggling to keep the pace with the overwhelming number and size of renewable projects under development, which are thus running in a harsh race for securing favorable grid connection conditions.
Certainly, every jurisdiction has its own profile, but generally the grid connection challenges fall within the following categories: (i) available information on grid capacity; (ii) costs required to secure grid capacity; (iii) costs required to build interconnection/expand grid capacity; (iv) balancing, curtailment, or other grid related costs.