Romania offers one of the most interesting renewable energy markets in the region, supported by market size, industrial electricity demand, interconnections and further room for renewables and storage, said Sotiris Kapellos, VP & COO, HELLENiQ Renewables, at the 11th HAEE Energy Transition Symposium, during the Romanian renewables panel powered by Energynomics.
Kapellos placed Romania’s attractiveness in a broader regional context, comparing it with Greece and pointing to several fundamentals that support investment. Romania is a larger country, with electricity consumption similar to Greece, but with roughly twice the population, which creates potential for future growth in demand. At the same time, the structure of consumption is different, with a higher share of industrial demand than in Greece.
For an investor in renewable energy, this matters because Romania is not only a generation market. It is also a market connected to several neighbouring systems and positioned closer to Central Europe. Kapellos noted Romania’s interconnections with Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria, which create opportunities for electricity to move across borders as regional markets become more integrated.
Renewables still have room, but…
Kapellos said Romania has already attracted significant renewable energy investment, both in solar and wind. In his assessment, the market has passed the midpoint of the first major opportunity window for renewables, but still has room for additional investments.
Storage is now becoming one of the most attractive areas. He described electricity storage as an emerging and interesting market in Romania, especially as more renewable capacity is connected and grid constraints become more visible.
The main infrastructure issue, in his view, is not the same as in Greece. In Greece, curtailments are linked mainly to production exceeding demand. In Romania, Kapellos said curtailments are currently more temporary and are mainly related to congestion in electricity lines. This means grid reinforcement and infrastructure upgrades remain essential for enabling further renewable investment.
Romania’s transmission system operator has been investing in reinforcements, although delays exist, as they do in other European markets. For Kapellos, the direction is clear: as the grid is upgraded, more renewable projects can be developed and connected.
HELLENiQ Renewables is already in the construction phase in Romania. Kapellos said the company has four photovoltaic projects under construction, with a total capacity of 211 MW. Half of this capacity is already in operation, while the other two projects are expected to become operational in 2026.
The company is also developing a wind project, expected to enter operation in mid-2027. By then, HELLENiQ Renewables expects to reach almost 300 MW of renewable capacity in Romania. Kapellos also referred to secured investments that could bring the company’s Romanian portfolio to around 850 MW of photovoltaics, wind and storage by 2030, representing more than one billion euros of investment.
Merchant batteries become profitable without subsidies
Later in the discussion, Kapellos returned to the topic of storage, comparing Romania with Bulgaria and Greece. He noted that Bulgaria is already advanced in battery deployment, with around 3 GWh in operation, while Greece is expected to reach around 2 GWh by the end of the year. In his assessment, Romania is between the two markets and could move quickly as battery projects accelerate.
His main point was that batteries no longer necessarily need subsidies to be profitable. Kapellos said that when storage support schemes started several years ago, batteries were still expensive, which made subsidies more relevant. But the market has changed.
For the next two to three years, he argued, merchant batteries can generate attractive returns without public support. The first movers are likely to benefit most, before a larger volume of batteries enters the market and starts reducing margins through cannibalisation.
This development is linked directly to the growth of solar power. As more photovoltaic capacity enters the system, it increases imbalance risks and creates a stronger need for batteries. Storage can then help solve part of the same imbalance that renewable generation creates.
Kapellos framed this as the equation now being discussed not only in Romania, Greece and Bulgaria, but also in Western European markets: more photovoltaics increase the need for flexibility, while batteries provide part of the balancing solution.
In his final intervention, Kapellos emphasised the importance of cooperation between Greek and Romanian teams. He said that, from the first days of activity in Romania, the collaboration with Romanian colleagues has been excellent and that the market has felt close to Greece in business terms.
The next challenge, however, is construction. HELLENiQ Renewables is already in that phase with its Romanian projects, and Kapellos expressed confidence that this stage can be successfully delivered.
For investors, his message is that Romania remains attractive, but the opportunity is becoming more demanding. The market is moving from origination and early development toward construction, grid integration and storage. In this phase, success will depend not only on securing projects, but also on executing them, connecting them efficiently and adapting portfolios to a market where flexibility is becoming central to renewable value.