Renewable Energy in Romania: Licences, Grid, PPAs and CfDs

Legal position as at: 24 October 2026

Romania's renewable energy framework has changed significantly in recent years. The green certificate scheme is closed to new plants, revenue support for new utility-scale capacity now comes through contracts for difference, corporate power purchase agreements have become a standard route to bankability, and the prosumer rules were rewritten in July 2026. This guide explains the current legal framework for a developer or investor and the points that usually decide whether a project can be financed.

1. The legal framework in brief

The central act is Law 123/2012 on electricity and natural gas, as amended many times, most recently by Law 160/2026. It sets out the market rules, the powers of the Ministry of Energy and of the regulator, ANRE (the National Energy Regulatory Authority), and the authorisation and licensing system. Law 220/2008 on the promotion of renewable electricity governs the green certificate scheme, which still matters for existing plants and for acquisitions of operating assets.

Alongside these sit the rules on land, permitting and the environment, the ANRE regulations on grid connection, and EU law, which shapes market design and state aid.

2. ANRE authorisations and licences

Law 123/2012 distinguishes between building a plant and operating it commercially.

• Setting-up authorisation (autorizație de înființare). For new generation capacity, refurbishments and new storage installations, an authorisation from ANRE is required where the maximum power delivered to the grid exceeds 1 MW. For capacities of 1 MW or less, no authorisation is needed, but ANRE must be notified of the project and kept informed of its progress (art. 10(1)).
• Generation licence. Commercial operation of generation capacity, together with any storage attached to it, requires an ANRE licence (art. 10(2)(a)). Stand-alone storage has its own licence category (art. 10(2)(i)).
• Site title. The setting-up authorisation is granted only where the capacity is located on land owned by the applicant, on public or private state or local authority land, or on land held under another legal title (art. 10(3)). Lenders will look closely at this title, and at its duration compared with the operating life of the plant.

Supply, trading and aggregation each require separate licences (art. 10(2)(f) to (h)). Project companies that intend to sell directly to consumers should check whether their licence gives them the necessary rights or whether a licensed supplier must be interposed.

3. Grid connection

Connection is obtained from the network operator: Transelectrica at transmission level, or the distribution operator for the area. The operator issues a technical connection permit (aviz tehnic de racordare, ATR) containing the technical connection solution, under ANRE regulations. The ATR, followed by the connection contract and the works it requires, is often the critical path of a project.

Points to check in every project:

• whether the ATR is valid and in the name of the project company;
• the conditions attached to it, including any financial guarantee and deadlines whose breach can lead to loss of capacity;
• the works to be carried out by the operator and by the developer, and who bears their cost;
• for hybrid projects, whether the ATR covers the storage component.

In an acquisition, transferability of the ATR and of the connection contract should be confirmed before signing.

4. Permitting and land

A utility-scale project typically needs:

• land rights for the plant, the access roads and the cable route, registered in the land book;
• zoning documentation and an urban planning certificate;
• the environmental assessment required for the project category (screening or full impact assessment);
• a building permit;
• sector opinions, such as those of the network operator, water management, archaeology where relevant, and the military or aviation authorities for wind projects.

Where the project sits on agricultural land outside built-up areas, the investor must also plan for the change of land category and, if land is to be purchased rather than leased, for the restrictions on the sale of agricultural land under Law 17/2014. Long-term surface rights or leases are often more practical than outright purchase.

5. Green certificates: a closed scheme

Under Law 220/2008, the green certificate scheme applies to electricity from renewable sources produced by plants commissioned or refurbished by the end of 2016 and accredited by ANRE (art. 3(3)). The support periods are fixed by technology and plant status, for example 15 years for new plants and 10 years for refurbished small hydro plants of up to 10 MW (art. 3(2)).

The practical consequence is simple: new projects cannot enter the scheme. Green certificates remain relevant only when an investor acquires an operating plant accredited before 2017, in which case due diligence should cover the accreditation decision, the remaining support period, any suspension or interruption periods and the certificates held or deferred.

6. Contracts for difference

Romania has introduced a contracts for difference (CfD) mechanism for low-carbon generation. Law 123/2012 entrusts the Ministry of Energy, together with ANRE, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Finance, with designing the mechanism, the allocation rules and the framework contract (art. 6(d)). The general framework was approved by Government Decision 318/2024. Funding comes from EU non-reimbursable funds and from a CfD contribution collected from final consumers in their electricity bills, which suppliers have been collecting since 1 April 2025 (art. 6(d) of Law 123/2012).

Under a two-way CfD, the generator sells its output on the market and receives or pays the difference between a strike price awarded in a competitive allocation round and a reference price. Allocation rounds are organised by the Ministry of Energy; rounds took place in 2024 and 2025. Developers interested in future rounds should follow the calendar, the eligibility rules and the framework contract published for each round, as these determine the permitting maturity required, the guarantees to be posted and the deadlines for commissioning.

7. Power purchase agreements

Law 123/2012 allows bilateral transactions negotiated directly on the wholesale market (art. 23(2)(a)) and states that long-term supply contracts may be negotiated over the counter, subject to competition law (art. 23(4)). This is the legal basis for corporate PPAs.

The structures used in practice are:

• Physical PPAs, where electricity is delivered to the buyer, either through a licensed supplier or directly where the parties hold the necessary licences, with balancing responsibility allocated contractually;
• Financial or virtual PPAs, where the parties settle the difference between an agreed price and a market reference, while the electricity is sold separately on the market.

Clauses that lenders and offtakers focus on include the price structure (fixed, indexed, floor and cap), volume (pay-as-produced, baseload, shaped), balancing costs, curtailment and negative prices, guarantees of origin, change in law, credit support, termination payments and governing law. A CfD and a PPA may be combined only within the rules of the CfD round, which usually restrict double remuneration for the same output.

8. Prosumers after Law 160/2026

Law 160/2026, in force since 26 July 2026, rewrote the prosumer rules in Law 123/2012:

• prosumers with renewable installations of up to 400 kW per consumption point may sell the electricity they produce or store to their supplier and to consumers connected to the plant's busbars (art. 73^1(1));
• quantitative compensation between electricity delivered and electricity consumed in a billing period is available, at the prosumer's request, for installations of up to 200 kW per consumption point (art. 73^1(3) and art. 3 point 23^1); under the transitional rules, it also applies to prosumer contracts already running when the law entered into force;
• household prosumers with installations of up to 27 kW may use the value resulting from compensation to pay electricity and gas bills at other locations held with the same supplier (art. 73^1(3^1)).

For commercial and industrial rooftop projects above 200 kW, the economics now depend on sale contracts rather than on compensation, and should be modelled accordingly.

9. Foreign investment screening

Energy is among the security fields listed by CSAT Decision 73/2012, to which the authorisation requirement applies where the investment exceeds 5,000,000 euro (OUG 46/2022, art. 3(1)); smaller investments may be called in (art. 3(2)). Since March 2026 energy infrastructure and energy storage technologies are also listed as sensitive domains for acquisitions of assets (art. 2^1, introduced by OUG 17/2026). The regime also covers investors from the EU. Acquisitions of project companies and of operating portfolios should be screened at the term sheet stage.

10. Due diligence checklist

• Title to land and easements for the plant, access and cable route, registered in the land book.
• Zoning, environmental decision and building permit, with their validity periods.
• ATR and connection contract: validity, holder, guarantees, works and deadlines.
• ANRE setting-up authorisation or notification, and the licence status.
• Revenue contracts: PPA, CfD award and framework contract, or green certificate accreditation for older plants.
• Screening analysis under OUG 46/2022 as amended.
• EPC, O&M and equipment supply contracts, warranties and performance guarantees.

When to get legal advice

Energy projects are won or lost on the paperwork behind the assets: a lapsed connection permit, a land title shorter than the financing, a PPA without proper change-in-law protection, or a transaction closed without screening. Our practice advises investors on the corporate, contractual and transactional side of energy projects, including acquisitions and due diligence.

This article is general information on the legal position at the date shown and is not legal advice for a specific case. For advice on your project, please write to us at