Romania’s Ministry of Vitality has printed a draft order outlining a transfer to an auction-based grid-connection course of for photo voltaic tasks above 1 MW in measurement. The change, which is presently topic to public session, might be carried out from January 2025.
The Romanian Vitality Regulatory Authority (ANRE) has shared a draft order of amendments to the principles for connecting new energy technology capability to the nationwide grid.
A key change includes the grid-connection course of relevant to tasks of at the very least 1 MW in measurement, by allocating the capability based mostly on auctions. It might be carried out from January 2025.
“This alteration positively responds to market requests of a mechanism that might restrict the unreal blockage of the grid by new grid connection permits issued for unfeasible tasks or tasks missing financing sources,” Mihaela Nyerges, a consultant of regulation agency Nyerges & Companions, advised pv journal.
The auctions could be held on a yearly foundation, for 10-year allocation intervals. The method would see Romania’s transmission system operator (TSO) decide and publish the obtainable capability for every zone of the grid by Jan. 15 of every 12 months.
From July 1 of every 12 months, the TSO would arrange each day public sale periods. The beginning worth could be decided by dividing the overall estimated worth of the reinforcement works, plus the answer examine worth by the overall megawatt capability requested by buyers.
One-fifth of the worth must be paid inside 30 days from the signing date, whereas the remaining must be paid no later than 4 months from the signing date. Every day delay penalties of 0.01% of the worth could be due by the grid operator for delays in performing reinforcement work and by buyers for delays in commissioning tasks.
ANRE’s draft order additionally units out new guidelines for monetary assure, extending its applicability to all tasks and proposing it as a situation for a grid connection allow (ATR). It says the assure needs to be equal to five% of the worth of the connection tariff and could be required no matter whether or not or not reinforcement work is important.
“Establishing the assure at a time when the undertaking feasibility continues to be unsure, mixed with the enforcement thereof if the connection settlement is just not signed or the undertaking is just not finalized, no matter the rationale, might enhance the funding danger,” mentioned Diana Dulamă from Nyerges & Companions’s Vitality Apply Group.
ANRE can also be proposing that in instances by which grid connections would have voltages above 110 kV, new connection substations and contours could be thought of a part of the transmission grid and qualify as reinforcement works.
“Because of such qualification, though not expressly talked about, we estimate that the buyers will not have the choice to conclude immediately the settlement for the design/execution of the respective connection installations, however will solely have the fitting to designate the contractor to the TSO,” mentioned Dulamă.
A session on the draft order opened on Feb. 1 and is open for feedback till March 2. The amendments are anticipated to go stay from Jan. 1, 2025.
Romania simplified its grid-connection course of for distributed photo voltaic beneath 10.8 kW in measurement in December 2022.
The Romanian Photovoltaic Trade Affiliation mentioned it expects the nation so as to add at the very least 3 GW of renewables by 2026, with photo voltaic accounting for round 2 GW of the overall. Statistics from the Worldwide Renewable Vitality Company present that Romania had 1,414 MW of photo voltaic put in by the top of 2022.
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