Almost ten years ago I was writing this article regarding the “Fear of the Smart Guys” play, which had the Romanian State as lead actor, playing two different roles - the Legislator-State and Shareholder-State. The State performance in such play had a decisive influence on the evolution of the Romanian energy sector for a decade.

Ever since the Land Fund Law was amended to allow the development of renewables on extra murros land, the entire industry has been waiting for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (“MADR”) to issue the application norms thereof (the “Norms”).

One of the most frequent questions asked these days by renewables investors and developers is whether PUZ is still required for developing small renewable power projects in Romania (below 50 ha). The relevance of this question is huge as the answer impacts on the duration of the development process with up to 9 months.

One of the hottest topics these days in the Romanian energy industry is the newly law adopted by the Romanian Parliament for amending the Land Law no. 18/1991. After an intense involvement by the energy associations, the long-waited law was finally adopted and currently awaits promulgation by Romanian president.

A new legislative draft with a highly beneficial impact for development of photovoltaic (PV) power plants was recently filed with the Romanian Senate.