Romanian Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja has announced that the final draft of the 15-year Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme has been approved. This initiative, supported by €3 billion in EU funding, is designed to bolster the development of solar and wind energy projects with capacities of up to 5 MW.
Minister Burduja anticipates launching the first tender in mid-November, which will offer 0.5 GW of solar capacity and 1 GW of onshore wind farms. A second auction, scheduled for next year, will provide opportunities for a total of 3,500 MW from both onshore wind and solar projects.
Prices for the projects will be set through a competitive auction process, with the maximum starting thresholds reduced to €78/MWh for solar projects and €82/MWh for onshore wind farms, down from initial thresholds of €91 and €93/MWh, respectively.
The submission period for offers in the first auction will open in mid-November, with evaluations concluding by mid-December. Contracts for the first round are expected to be finalized by the end of the year.