Romania's Senate passed tacitly a draft law that provides subsidies to offshore wind farms, Economica.net reported.

The bill also needs to be voted by the Chamber of Deputies, as the decision-making chamber.

In its current form, the law sets out, among other things, the subsidies that wind project developers in the Black Sea can receive.

The right to initiate and carry out such projects will be obtained from the Romanian state, either following a competitive tender procedure or through direct licensing.

Under the competitive procedure, the successful tenderer shall receive a concession for the offshore wind farm's construction and operation. The concession is granted based on the "lowest price" award criterion and reflects the minimum need for subsidies.

Offshore wind farms set up under the competitive procedure are entitled to subsidies, in line with the mechanism of contracts for difference (CoD), the draft law reads. Currently, Romania does not have a subsidy mechanism such as CoD, but a feasibility study is being developed in this regard.

Parks set up through the second procedure (direct licensing) will receive subsidies based on a much clearer mechanism. When they produce, they will receive a maximum bonus of EUR 25 per MWh, only if the sum of this bonus and the market price of electricity does not exceed EUR 60 per MWh. Otherwise, the premium is cut accordingly. The bonus is granted for a total amount of production, determined for each project, the draft law reads. In addition to the bonus, operators could receive a fixed compensation of EUR 20 per MWh "for balancing the investments."

(Photo: Michal Bednarek/ Dreamstime)

iulian@romania-insider.com