Work on a critical green energy infrastructure unit, with a capacity of 30 MW and an investment value of 200 million euros, has stopped again.
“Every MW we add to the national energy system means lower bills for Romanians and Romanian companies,” said the Minister of Energy at the beginning of the year, in a press statement presented below.
Court temporarily suspends work
On Wednesday, September 10, the Cluj Tribunal approved the request filed by the associations Bankwatch Romania – Cluj branch and Declic for the temporary halt of work on the Răstolița hydroelectric power plant. The court ordered the works to be halted until the final resolution of the case in which the action is being tried to establish the expiration (expiry) of the construction permit for the Răstolița HPP.
“This is the third court victory of environmental organizations this year against the Răstolița HPP. In June, the court suspended the environmental agreement that was the basis for the works. Later, in July, the Cluj Court of Appeal decided to suspend Government Decision no. 327/2025, which allowed the definitive removal of over 30 hectares of forest located in the Călimani National Park from the forest fund, for the construction of the Răstolița HPP,” say the environmental organizations.
“The suspension of the environmental agreement should have led to the cessation of any activity, such as deforestation or works yet to be executed. Unfortunately, we live in a context in which this court decision was openly disregarded by Hidroelectrica. Thus, the simple suspension of the environmental agreement could no longer ensure, on its own, the protection of the rule of law and the prevention of irreversible damage. Until the final resolution of the main action, any works at the Răstolița HPP are stopped. We welcome the decision of the Cluj Tribunal”, declared lawyer Roxana Mândruțiu.
“The court once again sided with nature and decided that environmental protection is above trans-partisan pressures. We cannot sacrifice nature indefinitely. AHE Răstolița is proposing an unprofitable exchange – 10 rivers sacrificed for not even 0.1% contribution to electricity production. All this, based on a construction permit that has not been valid for decades,” said Viviana Stoica, Hydroenergy Campaign Coordinator for Bankwatch Romania.
The Răstolița hydropower project was reactivated in 2024 through the direct involvement of former Minister of the Environment, Mircea Fechet, and former Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja,
“The Răstolița HPP would make a tiny contribution to electricity production – only 0.081% annually – while it would seriously affect 10 other rivers and sacrifice a unique ecosystem, located in protected natural areas and Natura 2000 sites. If Romania’s energy independence were a major fire that needed to be controlled, Răstolița would be the equivalent of a wet tissue trying to put out the flames,” say environmental organizations.
What the Minister of Energy said at the beginning of the year
Former minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, said at the beginning of January that the 30MW Răstolița hydropower plant could be inaugurated this year, being the first to be completed in more than 34 years.
“One of the priorities of the Ministry of Energy is the completion of hydropower plants started before 1989. Blocked for decades by the lawsuits of environmental organizations, carelessness or incompetence, these projects mean Romania’s chance to have safer, cheaper and cleaner energy. The Romanian state has already invested billions of lei in these objectives and, no matter how many interests I disturb, I will not stop until we complete them. I am confident that this year we will mark a premiere and inaugurate the first completed hydropower plant after over 34 years: Răstolița.
Today, in the government meeting, the government decision for the expropriation corridor was approved. It is another step, after obtaining a new environmental agreement last year, a success achieved with the support of my colleague and friend Mircea Fechet, the Minister of Environment. We both got away with protests and threats, and on the Răstolița dam an environmental organization projected the message “Burduja + Fechet + Ceaușescu”. As if the project were “Ceaușescu’s”, not the Romanians’.
Next comes the removal of the forest fund for the area in the reservoir basin (GD initiated by the Ministry of Environment), then the completion of the last works (the stage is approaching 100%) and the filling of the lake. Then, START production! Each MW that we add to the national energy system means lower bills for Romanians and Romanian companies. And we will demonstrate that Romania can complete a strategic investment of over 200 million EUR, without being stopped by anyone or anything,” said the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja.
