/16^th April 2021, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ This market report offers an incisive and reliable overview of the photovoltaic sector of the country for the next long term period 2020 ÷ 2030. Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the southeast, Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, and Moldova to the east. It has a predominantly temperate-continental climate. With a total area of 238,397 square kilometres (92,046 sq mi), Romania is the 12^th largest country and also the 7^th most populous member state of the European Union, having almost 20 million inhabitants. The current cumulative installed PV capacity grew up from 29 MW in 2012 to over 1380 MW in 2020. 

/23^rd December 2020, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ The global energy system is undergoing rapid transformation. With the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement serves as inspiration, countries, cities, and corporations worldwide continue to take meaningful action on renewable energy development. 2019 was another historic year for the global renewable power sector mix over the past year. Renewable energy sources have continued to dominate new additions to the world’s power generation over the past year. Renewable capacity reached 2,537GW globally by the end of 2019, up 176GW from the previous year. More solar PV capacities were installed globally than any other power generation technology. Solar alone saw more new capacity deployed than fossil fuels and nuclear combined. Solar added almost twice as much capacity as its renewable peer, wind power. A total of 97.08GW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity was installed globally in 2019, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). This led to a total global cumulative solar photovoltaic (PV) power capacity of over 580GW in 2019 after the solar exceeded the 300GW mark in 2016 and the 400GW level in 2018.

/12^th November 2019, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ The first wind and solar auctions are expected in Serbia in 2020. The projects that have already been started under a feed-in tariff mechanism will be completed under the existing regulations. According to the proposed amendments, incentive measures for privileged power producers would be given in the form of a premium, calculated as the difference between the price, with which the renewable energy producer has won the auction, and the market price of electricity. Furthermore, net metering for renewable energy is currently under consideration by the Ministry of Mining and Energy of Serbia. The country aims to cover 27% of its electricity demand with renewables by 2020, up from a target of 21.2% previously. Government plans assumed Serbia to add 1,092MW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2020, however at the end of 2018 if we exclude hydropower (most of which is large scale) the total cumulative installed renewable capacity in Serbia is only 399MW, according to calculations of the research department of Renewable Market Watch™. The biggest renewable energy progress in the country between 2015 and 2018 was due to wind energy projects.

/LONDON, April 18, 2023, 10:30 BST, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ By the end of 2022, Slovenia had a cumulative installed capacity of 711MW and registered an increase of 250MW compared to 2021. The country scored its best year in 2022 regarding the YoY growth in new solar PV capacity additions. The residential solar market accounted for almost all of the new capacity additions, according to the Western Balkans Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Market Outlook 2023÷2032 Solar demand in Slovenia will continue as the main drivers will be prolonging the net-metering scheme extension until the end of 2023 and the energy crisis in Europe. The Ministry of Infrastructure is drafting a plan to install a new 1,000MW (1 GW) solar PV capacity in Slovenia with the support of the national transmission system operator (ELES) and the distribution system operator SODO.

/6^th November 2019, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ During the last ten years (2008 – 2018) most of the market growth has been driven by incentives and the largest share of cumulative installed solar photovoltaic capacity in some of Central East Europe and South-East Europe (CEE & SEE) countries was realized by large scale ground-mounted solar power plants. Cumulative installed solar PV capacity in the CEE & SEE region scored 23 per cent increase in 2018 compared to 2017, according to the 'Central East and South-East Europe Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Market Outlook 2019÷2028'. The results of this study provide concrete inputs for the decision-making process for investors in solar photovoltaic power in the CEE & SEE region. Furthermore, it presents investment frameworks for renewables, including the latest solar photovoltaic developments, and provides assessment and an index of the RES support scheme's quality per countries. The retroactive taxes imposed to photovoltaic investors in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Greece, many developers turned attention to rooftop residential (up to 30 KW), and commercial (from 100 KW to 1 MW) photovoltaic installations. With the increasing costs of electricity and fossil fuels and unpredictability of these costs, the rooftop market segment together with corporate renewable PPA market and utility-scale projects under auction (tender) procedures shall play an increasing role in the solar photovoltaic market development in the CEE & SEE countries by 2030 and beyond.

/9^th September 2016, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ CEE and SEE countries are promising target destination for solar PV investments in Europe. We have to point out this region has been one of the fastest growing photovoltaic markets in Europe with cumulative solar PV installed capacity of 9.1 GW for 2015 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 27.9 % from 2010 to 2015, and with an expected cumulative solar PV installed capacity to exceed 26.9 GW by the end of 2025 according to CEE and SEE Countries Solar PV Market Review 2016 - 2017. All of the Central Eastern and South Eastern European countries have renewable energy capacity targets, assisting their goals to increase share of power generation from renewable energy sources, including solar PV energy. In EU member countries these targets are set by European Commission (EC), whilst in non-EU member countries RES targets are set in the national energy strategies or national renewable energy action plans.

/17^th October 2019, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ The Ministry of Economy of North Macedonia informed that a total of 44 bids have been received on a tender for the construction of solar photovoltaic power plants on private land with 27MW total installed capacity. Furthermore, for solar photovoltaic power plants on state land, 126 bids from interested investors have been registered for 62MW of total installed capacity. The Government will support investors with administrative approvals and complete all necessary procedures for the change of land status and developing detailed zoning plans of the sites for solar power plants deployment. The Republic of North Macedonia is very poor in primary energy resources. There are two major open-pit coal mines that supply two thermal power plants (TPPs) (TPP Bitola and TPP Oslomej), and two smaller open-pit mines that produce lignite for the industry and other sectors. The coal deposits of the mines adjacent to the power plants are of shallow heat value (lignite). Their capacities are limited, and the plants are due for retirement in about 10 - 15 years, according to calculations of the research department of Renewable Market Watch^TM. The other key fossil fuels are oil and natural gas, which are imported. There is only one oil pipeline transporting crude oil from Thessaloniki, Greece to Skopje, North Macedonia's capital.

/29^th January 2021, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ The Government of Kosovo has recently signed an agreement with IFC to help attract a private partner to develop a 50 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant under a structure. The Kosovo Solar project will be implemented through a competitive tender to achieve procurement of lower-cost solar energy. The Republic of Kosovo has a population of 1.8 million and the energy generation in the country is heavily dependent on two old lignite coal-fired power plants with high CO2 emissions. The coal-fired power plants, which cover 91% of the energy generation, reach the end of their operational life and will soon need serious investments for modernisation or decommissioning. Therefore, Kosovo needs viable energy alternatives to build a more flexible power generation strategy with the increased use of renewable energy. Kosovo has solar, wind, hydro and biomass resources available that are more than sufficient to meet the country's energy supply needs, has been mentioned in the regular update of 'Western Balkans Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Market Outlook 2021÷2030'.

/LONDON, February 8, 2024, 10:00 GMT, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ The Ministry of Energy in Romania has announced the relaunch of a competitive call for tender for battery storage projects. The objective of the call is to put into operation a minimum of 240 MW of electricity storage in batteries, which equals 480 MWh, by June 30, 2026. The aim is to contribute to Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) objectives. The call for tender is now open until March 21, 2024. The Ministry's announcement on February 8 stated that the battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities would have a duration of two hours and would be used for the grid integration of renewable energy. The Ministry has issued a technical guide for selection criteria, which includes funding for equipment, installation, and construction of BESS.

/26^th May 2021, 3SIIF/ The Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund, invests in RP Global-backed renewables developer Enery Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund S.A. SICAV-RAIF (‘3SIIF’, ‘the Fund’) announces that it has made its first investment in the energy sector, acquiring a significant interest in Enery Development GmbH (‘Enery’), an operations-led renewable energy developer. The existing shareholders, RP Global and Enery Management, will remain invested with a long-term vision to partner for growth within the Three Seas region. The investment is due to complete following merger control approvals. Enery owns a portfolio of 85MW of operating solar generation assets in Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovakia and has a significant development portfolio of over 2GW in a number of Three Seas countries, including Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Solar Photovoltaic (‘PV’) generation has yet to be widely deployed in Central and Eastern Europe (‘CEE’) despite the ideal conditions with high levels of irradiation and availability of suitable land. The increasingly pressing requirement to decarbonise the CEE region is expected to present substantial opportunities for renewables investment in the near term.

/SOFIA, April 1, 2024, 10:00 BST, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ Ms. Mila Nenova, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Investment Agency (BIA), was a special guest at the official contract signing ceremony. United Energy Group (UEG) is a Hong Kong-listed energy company with a strong focus on traditional oil and gas sectors and the development of green energy projects. Over the years, UEG has demonstrated steady growth in renewable energy initiatives, successfully building wind and solar projects in Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, and others. UEG has recently expanded its presence in the European energy market and is currently negotiating the acquisition of renewable energy projects with a total capacity of over 1 GW. UEG's executive chairman and vice president (UEG), Leslie Zhang, attended the event.

/18^th April 2016, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH^TM/ Between 2010 and 2015, wind energy market of CEE and SEE countries became one of the fastest-growing regions in Europe according to Renewable Market Watch. Cumulative installed wind power capacity in CEE and SEE region has reached almost 17 GW for 2015 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26 % from 2010 to 2015. According to CEE & SEE Countries Wind Power Market Outlook 2016 – 2025, the electric power sector in Europe and CEE & SEE countries particularly is currently facing different changes and evolution mainly in response to the three European Union (EU) energy-related challenges – environmental sustainability, the security of supply, and competitiveness – within a context of growing electricity demand. These issues may also represent drivers for the further development of the wind energy market in this region.