everal Romanian MPs intend to change the current legislation and allow coal-fired power plants to reopen under certain conditions. One of the initiators of this draft, signed by 30 members of parliament, is former Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja, who is currently a member of parliament for the National Liberal Party (PNL) and honorary advisor to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
The continued exploitation of coal—hard coal and lignite—will enable the construction or recommissioning of thermal power plants. However, this would only happen in certain cases, such as those caused by extreme crisis situations, for example, war, major natural disasters, etc. However, the draft makes no reference to the source of the money to be invested.
After committing to an aggressive decarbonization plan, authorities in Bucharest are only now realizing that they have rushed headlong into a potentially major disaster.
The Green Deal program is proving to be extremely costly for Romania, both financially and in terms of the country’s energy security. Traditional electricity generation facilities were shut down, mines were closed, and photovoltaic and solar power plants were built in their place.
However, at present, it is clear that they are unable to fill the gap left by coal.
Provisions of Government Emergency Ordinance No. 108/2022
Government Emergency Ordinance 108/2022, which transposes Romania’s climate commitments to the European Union regarding the decarbonization of the energy system, stipulates: “The commissioning of new lignite or hard coal-fired electricity generation capacities is prohibited, with the exception of capacities for which licenses/permits were issued prior to the entry into force of this emergency ordinance.” In this respect, the legislation is very clear, but the new draft comes with a number of exceptions.
The project’s initiators point out that, financially, investments in the coal and lignite industry, as well as in clean combustion technologies, can bring significant economic benefits, not only through the sale of the energy produced, but also through job creation and support for technological development.
“The draft legislation regulates measures to ensure Romania’s national security in the context of crises, extraordinary situations, and exceptional situations, aspects that are not subject to European Union law, being the exclusive responsibility of each member state, according to Article 4, last sentence, of the Treaty on European Union,” the explanatory memorandum to the draft states.
Retrofitting, mandatory before reopening
“In conclusion, the exploitation of hard coal and lignite for energy purposes not only provides a solid basis for Romania’s energy policy, but, in the context of Romanian emergency law, it represents a cornerstone for the country’s ability to respond, adapt, and recover in the face of unforeseen events or major crises,” states the explanatory memorandum to the draft legislation registered by the 30 parliamentarians.
According to the draft, the commissioning of coal mines and power plants will still be possible, provided that the so-called Best Available Techniques – BAT, defined by the EU Directive on industrial emissions as “the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation, which indicates the practical possibility of certain techniques serving as a reference for setting emission limit values and other authorization conditions, designed to prevent and, where that is not possible, to reduce emissions and the impact on the environment as a whole.” This may even mean reopening thermal power plants that have been closed. The process of retrofitting them is a long and very expensive one, and the companies that own them don’t have the necessary funds.
On the other hand, major international banks are no longer financing investments in coal-fired power capacity, let alone coal mines. And from this point of view, retrofitting these capacities seems impossible without further explanations from the initiators.