The energy market in Romania needs to be educated about the concept of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), stated Ionuț Ciubotaru, Vice President at OMV Petrom. The development of technical and management competencies in the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) sector is another strong requirement.

“Regarding the PPAs, the market needs to be educated. In Romania, there are five PPAs. This is the real number. In Greece, there are more but not too many more,” he stated, at the round table “Regional Approach Athens – Cooperation”, organized by Energynomics.

In the context of the accelerated development of the renewable energy industry driven by the energy transition, the energy market requires more EPCs to cope with the high demand for projects.

According to Ciubotaru, there are just a few EPCs on the Romanian market, and when it comes to building thousands of MW of renewable plants, there are several obstacles. For example, the lack of employees is a difficulty, but it’s not the only one. Another challenge is the lack of management strength and financial power of EPCs.

“We need competencies in all sectors, technical and management included. Energy transition is well described by three big characteristics: the complexity, huge CAPES needed to meet the targets, and knowledge. We need more knowledge, we need a lot of innovation, and cooperation is the way to go for energy transition.”

OMV Petrom is well advanced on its strategic plan to invest 11 billion euros in energy transition projects.

The working table “Regional Approach Athens – Cooperation” was organized by Energynomics with the support of our partners: Elektra Renewable Support, Kawasaki Gas Turbine Europe GmbH, Parapet GmbH, TUV Nord, WALDEVAR Energy.