Romania’s renewable energy market has moved from small-scale projects to gigawatt-level investments, but the next phase will be defined by how well new assets are integrated into the grid, said Elena Popescu, CEO, Elektra Renewable Support, at the 11th HAEE Energy Transition Symposium, during the Romanian renewables panel powered by Energynomics.
Popescu recalled that, when she entered the sector in 2009, the discussion was about a few megawatts and investments of a few million euros. Today, the market speaks in terms of hundreds of megawatts, billions of euros and large-scale portfolios. For her, this change is not only about the size of the power plants, but also about the need to think at system level: network impact, environmental constraints, the European electricity market and the operational role of each asset.
Her central message was that storage is no longer an optional add-on for renewable projects. In Romania, curtailments are often linked to grid security, voltage constraints and reactive power issues. As more wind and solar projects are connected, batteries become part of the technical solution for keeping projects bankable and the system stable. “We have to adjust and include this capacity and this help in all our projects, either if it is standalone or colocated with a power plant,” Popescu said.
From the perspective of dispatching and operations, she argued that storage can reduce the imbalance between production and consumption and, as a consequence, reduce voltage and reactive power curtailments. This is why storage is also encouraged by the transmission system operator as part of broader grid stability and energy security planning.
Popescu made a clear distinction between standalone and colocated batteries. Standalone storage can be installed in sensitive grid points, where the imbalance between production and consumption is particularly high. She gave the example of northern Romania, where there is a deficit of energy production. Colocated storage, by contrast, helps reduce the imbalances created by wind or solar power plants, while also supporting the local grid connection point of the project. For investors and developers, this means that the business case of a renewable project should not be evaluated only through installed capacity or permitting progress. The technical design must also address how the asset will behave in dispatching, how it will manage imbalance risk and how it will contribute to grid stability over time.
Popescu also linked the discussion to service quality. Elektra Renewable Support works on dispatching, operation and maintenance, and she said the company continues to improve these services by using experience gained with Greek clients, in a market that developed earlier than Romania in renewables.
Her final technical point was that grid reinforcement does not always mean building new lines. Storage installed in sensitive grid points can increase the amount of current that can circulate through existing infrastructure, including busbars, and can therefore help the grid accommodate more renewable generation without relying only on conventional expansion.