The Romanian renewable energy market is no longer the volatile environment it was just a few years ago. It is now transitioning into a more stable and mature ecosystem, said Ioannis Kalapodas, Head of the Romanian Office at European Energy, at the 11th Energy Strategy Summit, the flagship event of Energynomics.
“I believe that the market is getting more stabilized and going to the normal market characteristics like any other market,” Kalapodas observed. Reflecting on the early days of the current renewable wave, he recalled: “Back in 2020 or 2021, foreign investors were not many… It was mainly a sellers’ market.” Today, he said, the situation has reversed: “Nowadays it’s more like a buyers’ market,” driven by a high volume of projects and evolving investor expectations.
Kalapodas noted that while European Energy maintains a strong presence in Romania, with a pipeline of around 800 MW backed by grid connection approvals, the path to execution is not without setbacks. “We are a little bit behind, to be honest. I was expecting that several of the projects were going to have reached this ready-to-build status,” he admitted. The delays, he explained, are often due to unpredictable local conditions and mismatches between national goals and local implementation. “You go to the countryside and then you have to talk with the local stakeholders that they have a quite different interpretation of the target and maybe different agenda and priorities.”
A key challenge, he emphasized, lies in the inconsistent definition of project maturity. “The developer defines the ready-to-build status considering the minimum requirements the legislation set. On the other hand, you go to have a dialogue with the investment committee or the financier, and then you realize that whatever is said like ready-to-build is not actually ready-to-build.”
Beyond permitting and grid access, Kalapodas pointed to two structural constraints that will increasingly define market behavior in 2025 and beyond. The first is the lack of bankable offtake solutions: “Except of the CfD, which is a scheme that is quite stable, preferable from many banks… if you go to run the model… [you will see] the level of the safety is very low.”
The second challenge is ESG compliance, now a prerequisite from the earliest phases of development. “ESG is something that entered our lives quite dynamically and it will keep entering. It’s growing, it’s very foggy… usually the ESG is the problem that a project that we consider by the legislation as ready-to-build is not,” he explained, citing issues with environmental studies, stakeholder engagement, and social risk analysis.
Despite the systemic issues, Kalapodas expressed long-term confidence in Romania’s role within the European energy transition. “I believe that Romania has potentials. I believe that Romania is getting modernized and updated day by day,” he said. But he cautioned that progress depends on political will and smart regulation.
He closed with a personal reflection, having lived in Romania since 2013. “Be focused, be patient, and have also a combination — whatever you are bringing from abroad and whatever you can get locally.”
2025 Energy Strategy Summit was organised by Energynomics, with the support of our partners: AJ Brand, Elektra Renewable Support, ABB, Adrem Asset Management, Alive Capital, BCR, DEKRA, Distribuție Energie Electrică Romania, E-Infra, Eaton Electric, Electrica Furnizare, EnergoBit, Enery, Enevo Group, Enexus, European Investment Bank, Evryo, Exim Banca Romaneasca, Delgaz Grid, Genesis Biopartner, Huawei, ING Bank, Jantzen Renewables, Keno Energy, Leader Team, LONGi, Nano Energies, Prime Batteries Technology, Procesio, Procredit Bank, Relians, Renomia, Romgaz, Schneider Electric, script.ai, Sermatec, smartPulse, Solar Today, SolaX, Think Blu Solution, Voltika, Wiren, YEO, AIployees, Aqua Carpatica, Alexandrion, Carbon Tool, Imsol.