You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience The Romanian government has allocated EUR 103.5 million ($108.6 million) to support investments in battery energy storage systems and deliver at least 240 MW/480 MWh by 2025 Battery storage at EDPR's Bailesti solar plant in Romania The government of Romania is looking to support the deployment of commercial and industrial (C&I) battery energy storage systems (BESS) to the tune of EUR 103.5 million. Minister of Energy Virgil Popescu said in a Facebook post that projects can be submitted until Dec The grants will be allocated for the purchase of system components and equipment for the construction of new battery projects as well as the construction of the BESS facilities small- or medium-sized enterprises (including startups) The government has secured a total of EUR 103.48 million of which EUR 79.6 million is from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) with the remaining amount coming from state funds Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan consists of EUR 14.24 billion in grants and EUR 14.94 billion in loans About 41% of the plan will be directed to the green energy transition the grants will come in the form of reimbursement of expenses the maximum amount of BESS grants shall not exceed EUR 167,000 per megawatt-hour installed and EUR 15 million per project A single applicant may submit only one project All projects must be implemented by the end of 2025 The subsidy scheme will contribute to Romania’s energy transition objectives by developing at least 240 MW/480 MWh Romania’s installed BESS capacity is negligible The largest system now under construction is a 7 MW lithium-ion battery owned by Megalodan Storage in Ilfov county the only operational projects in the country are two BESS systems operated by Portugal's EDPR However, Romania has big battery manufacturing ambitions and plans to have a 2 GW battery industry by the end of 2025 The country also plans to train some 20,000 people over the next four years to overcome the existing skill gap in the battery sector “We want to attract investments of at least EUR 2 billion in the battery sector in the next five years,” Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said in June, after signing a memorandum of understanding with EIT InnoEnergy for the development of the battery sector the government said it has adopted an emergency ordinance that gives prosumers the possibility to install PV panels at both the place of electricity consumption and at other locations as long as the systems are installed within a single distribution network the move was made in response to requests to the Ministry of Energy and parliament from a number of prosumers More articles from Marija Maisch Please be mindful of our community standards and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy. × The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this Close Romgaz and Transgaz have signed the contracts for taking over the Black Sea gas into the National Transmission System which were initialled by Transgaz CEO Ion Sterian OMV Petrom CEO Christina Verchere and Romgaz CEO Razvan Popescu are valid for the period September 2026 – September 2042 The cumulative value of the commitments of the successful applicants is RON 2.82 billion The contracts were signed after the successful completion of the incremental capacity booking process for the Tuzla entry/exit point into/from NTS “Transgaz is ready to build this gas pipeline under the same conditions of safety efficiency and performance that it meets every time the site to the winner of the tender for the construction of the gas pipeline to carry out our mission of ensuring Romania’s energy independence and we will fulfil our obligations to the Romanian state authorities and our international obligations with professionalism and dedication,” Transgaz CEO Ion Sterian stated on this occasion Currently estimated to cost around EUR 478 million including VAT the gas pipeline project consists of the construction of a 308.3 km long Tuzla – Podisor gas transmission pipeline which will link the natural gas resources available on the Black Sea coast to the BRUA corridor Transgaz has applied for grants from the Modernisation Fund together with other five gas transmission infrastructure projects the interconnection with the Trans-Balkan corridor a corridor for which reverse flow on the Romanian territory is ensured and also the connection to the Vertical Corridor of which the BRUA pipeline is part It creates a connection between new sources of natural gas from the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea basin with the Trans-Balkan Corridor and the Vertical Corridor “After the successful completion of the BRUA after the successful completion of the Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline after the completion of the works allowing the international transmission of natural gas in reverse-flow regime at all interconnection points and after starting the exploitation of Black Sea gas from shallow blocks we are now at the starting line of the Tuzla-Podisor gas pipeline which will allow the natural gas exploited by OMV Petrom and Romgaz from the Black Sea to reach the National Transmission System and every locality in Romania that has access to the natural gas network,” Transgaz CEO Ion Sterian said For the development of the gas transmission infrastructure in Romania through the 10-year Development Plan for the National Gas Transmission System (TYNDP) with investment projects estimated at approximately EUR 3.2 billion that will bring the NTS in line with European transmission and operating requirements and those of the European Green Deal on decarbonisation Transgaz is concerned with expanding and upgrading existing infrastructure through the potential of integrating hydrogen from renewable and low carbon sources into the gas transmission system the company has signed with the European Investment Bank (EIB) an Agreement for the provision of advisory services to prepare and develop a strategy to decarbonize Romania’s gas transmission network TYNDP 2022-2031 was approved by ANRE by Decision No 1944/01.11.2022 and is posted on the company’s website a Memorandum of Understanding for the regional development of a hydrogen network was signed in April 2022 between the gas transmission and system operators (TSOs) of Romania (Transgaz) with the initiative also open to other transmission and system operators In addition to the major projects mentioned above the Modernisation and Development Investment Programme for 2023 and the estimates for the period 2024-2025 also include investments in the development of the NTS in accordance with the provisions of the updated Law 123/2012 with an estimated value of EUR 536 million investments to ensure the extension of the National Transmission System in areas with newly established distribution systems Some of these are declared projects of national importance: Sighetu Marmatiei – Borsa gas transmission pipeline (accepted); Prunisor – Orsova – Baile Herculane – Jupa gas transmission pipeline; Lugasu – Huedin gas transmission pipeline; Ghergheasa – Focsani gas transmission pipeline; Tetila Horezu – Ramnicu Valcea gas transmission pipeline; Ghercesti – Jitaru gas transmission pipeline; gas transmission pipeline for supplying CET Mintia Neamt – Baltasesti gas transmission pipeline Neamt County; Deta – Moravita gas transmission pipeline Timis County; Vernesti – Maracineni – Posta Calnau gas transmission pipeline Stage II – Maracineni – Posta Calnau; Vladimirescu – Lipova gas transmission pipeline; Segarcea – Bailesti – Calafat gas transmission pipeline; Natural gas supply to the town of Borsec; Natural gas supply to the localities on the Moinesti – Asau and Mihaileni – Lunca de Sus consumption routes located in the ‘Trotuș Gaz Palanca’ Intercommunity Development Association (IDA) area Bacau and Harghita Counties; Natural gas supply to the localities on the Scanteia – Deleni and Petresti – Costuleni consumption routes located in the ‘Plaiurile Jijiei’ IDA area Iasi County; Natural gas supply to the localities of Praid Harghita County; Gas transmission pipeline DN 400/DN 300 Timisoara I RMS – Timisoara III RMS; Gas transmission pipeline DN 500 Plataresti – Balaceanca; Gas transmission pipeline DN 250 Techirghiol – Ovidiu; Gas transmission pipeline DN 600 Mihai Bravu – Silistea Portuguese utility EDP will double down on efforts to grow its energy storage and green hydrogen capabilities through two separate business units focused on the technologies The storage unit will be associated with EDP Renováveis’ (EDPR) operations in the US and will be dedicated to the development of energy storage technologies EDPR’s most significant storage installation to date is the Sonrisa project in California which is expected to start operations in 2022 and will feature 200MW of solar paired with 40MW of energy storage “The growing penetration of renewable energy sources increasingly requires integration with storage systems to provide the necessary flexibility to the electrical system and thus enhance the growth of renewable energy sources themselves,” said EDP CEO Miguel Stilwell de Andrade will be the company’s new arm for the development of green hydrogen a market it said “represents one of the growth axes for EDP” thanks in part to decarbonisation objectives and the continued cost reductions of producing the fuel H2BU will leverage EDP’s renewables portfolio to focus on green hydrogen production for industries such as steel EDP’s current green hydrogen operations include the H2Sines plant in Portugal and the Behyond project a partnership between Portugal and Norway to study the feasibility of offshore wind-powered hydrogen production The firm is also part of the newly founded European Clean Hydrogen Alliance Stilwell de Andrade said the combination of renewables in electricity generation with the electrification of consumption “will be the most cost-effective way for decarbonisation for most of the final energy uses” adding: “But if we want to meet the goals of carbon neutrality to respond to sectors where electricity is not a technically viable or economically attractive option.” Announced last year, the European Union’s green hydrogen strategy calls for at least 40GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers by 2030 which would require between 80 – 120GW of solar and wind capacity.