Romanian authorities say they will facilitate the deployment of more than 150,000 photovoltaic systems through the new state budget.
Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said the government will allocate RON 3 billion ($666.2 million) this year to the Casa Verde Fotovoltaice (Green Photovoltaic Home) program to support residential solar installations under the national net metering system.
The program provides subsidies for installations larger than 3 kW, covering up to 90% of the cost of the array, as long as the subsidy does not exceed RON 20,000 for regular projects and RON 25,000 for remote areas.
Romanian authorities say they will facilitate the deployment of more than 150,000 photovoltaic systems through the new budget. The government says the ambitious target can be achieved by simplifying new regulations for installing rooftop arrays.
“The homeowner only needs to show identity documents, proof that the beneficiary has no debts to the state or local authorities, and a grid connection permit,” Ciucă said.
Romania's state agency responsible for environmental protection, the Environmental Fund Authority (AFM), is likely to approve the new budget by mid-February and launch a call in March to select interested homeowners. In 2022, the Ministry of the Environment allocated 280 million Romanian Leu for the subsidy program.
Romania's net metering regulations apply to all systems up to 100 kW in size and include financial incentives for owners of PV systems up to 27 kW in capacity. Under the scheme, owners of renewable energy systems can sell surplus electricity to the country's four electricity distributors - Enel, CEZ, Eon and Electrica - at prices set by the energy regulator on a per-distributor basis.
Romania had installed a total of 1,396 MW of solar by the end of 2021, according to the latest statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).