Romania's energy market

What is being built, and what is being connected

The most reliable single indicator of Romania's renewable build-out is what the transmission system operator actually energises. Transelectrica reported 2,514 MW of new generation and storage capacity connected to the national power system between 1 January and 21 August 2026: 1,331 MW of photovoltaic plants, 663 MW of storage, 496 MW of wind, 20 MW of hydrocarbon plants and 5 MW of biogas. The operator projected a further 1,000 MW of solar and wind and about 1,000 MW of storage by December 2026, alongside the gas plants at Mintia and Iernut. That projection is a plan, not a result, and we treat it as such.

For context, Romania added about 2.2 GW of solar in 2025 and only about 330 MW of onshore wind. Cumulative solar capacity passed 7 GW at the end of 2025, split roughly between utility-scale plants (around 3.5 GW) and the residential and commercial rooftop segments (around 1.8 GW each). The wind fleet built in 2010-2014 still dominates onshore capacity, which is why the CfD wind awards matter.

How revenue certainty works: CfDs, PPAs and merchant sales

Romania's Contracts for Difference scheme, approved under EU state-aid rules and financed with EUR 3 billion from the Modernisation Fund, has completed three rounds. Round 1 (December 2024) awarded 1.53 GW, round 2 (August 2025) awarded 2,751 MW, and a wind-only round 3 (December 2025) added about 316 MW. Round-2 solar cleared at an average of EUR 40.46/MWh and wind at EUR 73.8/MWh; contracts run for 15 years. Corporate PPAs are the second route, increasingly shaped by hourly matching requirements linked to CBAM. The third is merchant exposure to OPCOM's day-ahead market, which averaged EUR 150.51/MWh in January 2026, EUR 109.56/MWh in May and EUR 122.99/MWh in June.

Grid access is the binding constraint

Since Order 15/2026 of ANRE (Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority) took effect on 21 May 2026, applicants for grid capacity must lodge a participation guarantee of EUR 20,000 per MW requested, with pre-existing requests required to post the guarantee by 14 July 2026. Transelectrica updated its capacity allocation procedure in June 2026 and now allocates capacity by area through competitive procedures rather than on a first-come basis. The practical effect is that paper reservations are being cleared out and the value of a real, guaranteed connection point has become explicit.

Storage, flexibility and the shape of the system

Battery storage in Romania crossed 1,130 MWh of operational capacity (599 MW) by April 2026 and 663 MW more was connected in 2026 to August. The EBRD financed the 127 MW / 254 MWh Scornicești standalone battery on a largely merchant model, and a EUR 120 million EBRD loan is backing a 342 MW solar plus 300 MWh battery project. Storage matters because of the system's shape: a large hydro fleet, two nuclear units at Cernavodă (Unit 1 enters a 2027-2030 refurbishment financed by an EUR 800 million EIB loan) and growing midday solar surpluses that already produce negative-price hours.

EU money: the Modernisation Fund

Romania is the largest beneficiary of the EU Modernisation Fund, with an indicative envelope of about EUR 6.7 billion for 2021-2030. The Ministry of Energy runs the calls. In July 2026 it allocated EUR 250 million to storage and smart meters, and the EUR 150 million standalone battery call opened on 1 September 2026 with a 30 October deadline, a target of at least 2,174 MWh, aid capped at EUR 69,000 per MWh and EUR 15 million per company.

Where the capital is coming from

Alongside Western European IPPs and funds, Turkish industrial groups have become visible investors, announcing multi-hundred-megawatt solar, wind and storage plans and acquiring permitted photovoltaic projects in several Romanian counties. About 20,000 companies with Turkish capital operate in Romania and bilateral trade reached roughly USD 13.5 billion in 2025. Momentum Energy publishes in English, Romanian and Turkish because this is the investor community it serves.

What this means for investors

• Underwrite on connected megawatts and guaranteed capacity, not on pipeline announcements.
• Model three revenue routes side by side: CfD strike prices by round, corporate PPA structures with hourly matching, and merchant day-ahead exposure including negative hours.
• Treat the EUR 20,000/MW guarantee and the area-based allocation as the entry ticket for any greenfield project.
• Storage is now financeable on merchant terms in Romania; check the balancing-market rules before assuming CfD-style certainty.
• Modernisation Fund calls have hard deadlines and per-company caps; the calendar shapes the deal pipeline.

Momentum Energy's view

Our reading of 2026 is that Romania has moved from a permitting market to a delivery market. The scarce resources are no longer licences but guaranteed grid capacity, experienced EPC contractors and equipment on schedule. That favours investors who can move quickly on projects that already have a real connection point, and it makes independent verification of grid status the first item in any diligence list.

The view above is Momentum Energy's opinion and is separated from the sourced facts in the tables. It is not investment advice.