Romania
Table 11: Key renewable and biomass energy statistics, Romania
|
Electricity from biomass |
Heating and cooling from biomass |
% of total energy |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mtoe |
% of total electricity |
% of ren electricity |
Mtoe |
% of total heat/cool |
% of ren heat/cool |
Biomass |
All renewables |
|
|
2009 |
0.00 |
0.0% |
0.1% |
3.75 |
26.3% |
99.3% |
15.8% |
22.7% |
|
2016 |
0.04 |
0.8% |
1.8% |
3.47 |
26.5% |
98.8% |
14.7% |
25.0% |
|
Annual average growth |
72.8% |
-1.1% |
-1.0% |
1.4% |
||||
|
2020 target |
24.0% |
|||||||
Source: Eurostat SHARES database, http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/energy/data/shares.
Note: Biomass as a percentage of total energy does not include solid biomass used for transport fuel (volumes are not yet significant).
Demand for woody biomass
Romania, one of the newest member states of the EU, has a much smaller economy than the other countries analysed in this paper; in terms of GDP it is the EU’s second poorest country. In 2016, it was the ninth highest consumer of biomass for heating in the EU. It has already exceeded its Renewable Energy Directive target for 2020, mostly through increasing its output of renewable electricity, though biomass hardly features at all in this sector.
In 2016, renewables accounted for 43 per cent of electricity generated, 64 per cent of which was from hydro and 25 per cent from wind; biomass accounted for less than 2 per cent. Wind and solar have both grown very quickly and are projected to continue to do so, according to Romania’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan; biomass electricity is also expected to grow, to an estimated 6 per cent of renewable power by 2020.161
Biomass is far more extensively used for heat, providing 99 per cent of total renewable heat consumption in 2016; roughly half of this was used for residential space and water heating.162 This is a reflection more of the historically limited use of fossil fuels, particularly in rural areas, rather than of policy support for renewable heat. It is also expected to continue to grow, though fairly slowly, alongside growth in energy consumption as a whole. The National Renewable Energy Action Plan included an expansion of renewable heat consumption from 3.8 Mtoe in 2009 to 4.0 Mtoe in 2020, though in fact it has fallen since 2010, to 3.5 Mtoe in 2016.163 A set of scenarios published by the World Bank in 2016 suggested that energy consumption in Romania will increase in industry while falling in the domestic sector, given improvements in the efficiency of domestic heating appliances and a fall in population.
Biomass supply
Romania possesses a sizeable forest industry, producing about 15 million m³ of roundwood (under bark) in 2016, including 5 million m3 of wood fuel.164 Wood from forests represents the country’s largest source of biomass energy, particularly for private heating systems.165 Wood chips from short rotation plantations, such as willow and poplar, are also used in local heating systems, while sawdust and bark are more commonly used in power plants.166 By 2015, Romania had eight CHP plants using biomass, with a total installed capacity of 134 MW.167
Domestic production is not enough to satisfy demand, so Romania imports a substantial quantity of wood fuel (almost half a million tonnes in 2016), almost entirely from Ukraine (see Figure 25).
Figure 25: Romania’s imports of woody biomass potentially for energy, 2010–16
— Source: Generated from Eurostat data at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/newxtweb/mainxtnet.do.
Note: Wood chips and residues are not only used for energy generation.
Note: Wood chips and residues are not only used for energy generation.
Figure 25: Romania’s imports of woody biomass potentially for energy, 2010–16
Note: Wood chips and residues are not only used for energy generation.
As in other EU countries, pellet production has grown quickly, primarily using chips and sawdust from the expanding wood processing industries, and also agricultural residues such as straw. By 2016, pellet production had reached 700,000 tonnes; government forecasts suggested capacity of 1.2 million tonnes by 2020.168 Domestic consumption of pellets is relatively low, as most power stations and domestic heating systems are not equipped to use them, so significant amounts are exported, mainly to Austria and Italy (see Figure 26). Exports have fallen from about 450,000 tonnes in 2013 to about 250,000 tonnes in 2016, however; whether this is due to falling production or rising domestic consumption, or both, is not known. Stakeholders in Romania’s biomass industry have anticipated greater domestic use of wood pellets for heating.169
Figure 26: Romania’s exports of woody biomass potentially for energy, 2010–16
— Source: Generated from Eurostat data at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/newxtweb/mainxtnet.do.
Note: Wood chips and residues are not only used for energy generation.
Note: Wood chips and residues are not only used for energy generation.
Figure 26: Romania’s exports of woody biomass potentially for energy, 2010–16
Note: Wood chips and residues are not only used for energy generation.
In recent years, local, national and international concerns have been expressed over illegal behaviour in the supply of logs from Romania, particularly in relation to export-oriented sawmills, some of which supply substantial quantities of wood pellets as by-products.170 The Romanian government has estimated that roughly half of all logs extracted from Romanian forest are illegally sourced, and has described illegal logging as a threat to national security. The EU Timber Regulation, if fully enforced, could accordingly have a major impact on these sources of supply.
There are also some doubts about the legality of imports of wood fuel from Ukraine.171 In July 2015, Ukraine introduced a 10-year ban on exports of non-coniferous species of roundwood, supposedly in response to unsustainable and illegal logging, and extended this to coniferous species from the end of 2017.172 Given the volume of logs exported from Ukraine to Romania in recent years (see Figure 25), this may have an impact on Romania’s biomass sourcing, though data for 2016 show imports increasing strongly after a dip in 2015.
Romania’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan projected supplies of woody biomass for energy increasing from 5.5 million m3 in 2006 (2 million m3 from fellings, 0.5 million m3 from forest residues and 3 million m3 from mill and other industry residues) to 6.5 million m3 in 2015 and 7.5 million m3 in 2020, the increases split evenly between fellings and forest residues and mill and industrial residues.173 This was to be achieved through afforestation efforts on agricultural lands, the promotion of energy crops, more intense wood harvesting from forests, and greater use of waste from the wood industry. The use of agricultural residues was also to be encouraged. A study published by the University of Bucharest in 2014 reported that increased competition for raw wood material had led to tensions between the energy sector and the wood processing and furniture industries.174
Support for biomass energy
Policy support for biomass energy in Romania includes a quota system for biomass power and subsidies for both biomass power and heat.
Under the Electricity Law of 2008, power producers and suppliers are obliged to obtain a specified number of green certificates issued for electricity generated from renewable sources. Biomass plants are eligible if they present certificates of origin for the type of biomass used, granted either by the Ministry of Environment and Forests or the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, depending on the feedstock.175 In 2015, the cost of a green certificate ranged from €29 to €60. Once these are presented, biomass plants are eligible to receive two certificates per MWh of electricity generated. Highly efficient CHP plants with an installed capacity of up to 2 MW, as well as power plants using biomass from forest waste, are eligible to receive an additional green certificate.176 The quota system is managed by Romania’s Regulatory Authority for Energy, which updates the quota target annually; in 2016, the target was set at 12 per cent of final gross energy consumption.177 Producers that fail to meet their quota obligations pay a penalty of €110 per missing certificate.
The scheme proved problematic, however, leading to complaints from renewable generators over inadequate levels of support, and from electricity consumers, particularly in industry, over the rise in electricity prices that resulted.178 The scheme was closed to new applicants at the end of 2016; it will continue for existing installations until 2031. In March 2017, the government introduced emergency legislation clarifying a number of legal uncertainties, but there appear to be no plans for a further support scheme for new installations.
A new feed-in-tariff scheme for renewable power generation in small-scale installations of less than 500kW was announced in 2015, with implementation scheduled for the end of 2016, but this does not yet appear to have been implemented.179
Support for the use of renewables in the heating and cooling sector is provided by investment subsidy programmes of the Romanian Environmental Fund, the National Rural Development Programme and the Ministry of Regional Development, Public Administration and European Funds. Subsidies are available, among other purposes, for investment in district heat infrastructure using bioenergy on the local level and for farmers generating their own thermal or electric energy from renewable sources.180 In April 2017, a new state aid scheme was approved to promote energy production from less exploited energy sources, including biomass, biogas and geothermal energy.
Romania has no national sustainability criteria for biomass.
161 European Commission (2012), ‘National Renewable Energy Action Plan: Romania’, https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/national-action-plans (accessed 22 Aug. 2016).
162 Malla, S., and Timilsina, G. R. (2016), Long-Term Energy Demand Forecasting in Romania: Modeling Approach, World Bank, http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/982171467993734307/pdf/WPS7697.pdf (accessed 22 Aug. 2016).
163 European Commission (2012), ‘National Renewable Energy Action Plan: Romania’.
164 Eurostat data at http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/forestry/data/database.
165 Borz, S. A., Derczeni, R., Popa, B., and Nita, M. D. (2013), Regional Profile of the Biomass Sector in Romania, FOROPA, http://www.foropa.eu/files/country_reports/country%20report%20romania.pdf (accessed 22 Aug. 2016).
166 PelletsAtlas (2009), Pellet country report: Romania, Austria: Holzforschung Austria, http://pelletsatlas.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Romania_CR.pdf (accessed 22 Aug. 2016).
167 Borz et al. (2013), Regional Profile of the Biomass Sector in Romania.
168 FAOSTAT data at http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FO; Sfaca, D. (n.d.) ‘Romania: The characteristics and potential of the wooden pellets and briquettes’, Romanian Pellets and Briquettes Association, http://docplayer.net/22691373-Romania-the-characteristics-and-potential-of-the-wooden-pellets-and-briquettes.html (accessed 29 Jan. 2018).
169 ARBIO and Bioenergy for Business (2015), Romania’s promising market segments for heating with solid biomass (> 100 kW), http://www.bioenergy4business.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/B4B-WP2_Country_Summary_Report_Romania_ARBIO_31_8_2015.pdf (accessed 22 Aug. 2016).
170 Peter, L. (2015), ‘Romania acts to save forests from logging spree’, BBC News, 21 May 2015, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32792314 (accessed 25 Aug. 2016); Klawitter, N. (2015), ‘Clear-Cutting Romania: Logging Threatens One of Europe’s Last Virgin Forests’, 8 May 2016, Spiegel Online, http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/illegal-logging-in-romania-benefits-germany-a-1032253.html (accessed 25 Aug. 2016); Schweighofer (2016), ‘Our saw mills at Sebes: Facts and Figures 2016’, https://www.schweighofer.at/en/production-sites/sebes.html (accessed 25 Aug. 2016); Environmental Investigation Agency (2014), Stealing the last forest: Austria’s largest timber company, land rights, and corruption in Romania, https://eia-global.org/reports/st (accessed 25 Aug. 2016).
171 Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) (2016), ‘Action Plan: Romania’, http://www.flegtactionplan.eu/romania.htm (accessed 25 Aug. 2016).
172 De Micco, P. (2015), In Depth Analysis, Ukraine’s will to liberalise: Tested on many fronts, European Parliament, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2015/549072/EXPO_IDA(2015)549072_EN.pdf (accessed 22 Aug. 2016); http://voxukraine.org/2015/04/14/log-export-ban-in-ukraine-a-case-for-presidential-veto/ (accessed 8 Sep. 2016).
173 European Commission (2012), ‘National Renewable Energy Action Plan: Romania’.
174 Rusu, M. (2014), ‘Energy Forestry: A source of energy for the Romanian economy’, SEA-Practical Application of Science, Volume II (2): pp. 667–674, https://ideas.repec.org/a/cmj/seapas/y2014i4p667-674.html (accessed 22 Aug. 2016).
175 RES Legal (2016), ‘Legal sources on renewable energy: Summary: Romania’, http://www.res-legal.eu/search-by-country/romania/ (accessed 22 Aug. 2016).
176 Eurobserv’ER (2012), The progress report of Romania in regards to promoting and using energy from renewable sources, in compliance with Article 22 of Directive 2009/28/EC: Second Report, http://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/res-policy/EurObservER-RES-Policy-Report-Article-22-Romania-report-EN.pdf (accessed 22 Aug. 2016).
177 RES Legal (2016), ‘Legal sources on renewable energy: Summary: Romania’.
178 Eurobserv’ER (2017), Renewable Energy Policy Factsheet: Romania, https://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/renewable-energy-policy-factsheet-2017-romania/ (accessed 29 Jan. 2018); Volciuc-Ionescu SCA (2017), ‘Romania – amendments to the renewables incentives scheme aimed to save the renewable energy from collapse’, 7 April 2017, https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6792bdca-1cf1-4c5b-b3a3-e62f90f23d16 (accessed 29 Jan. 2018).
179 Eurobserv’ER (2017), Renewable Energy Policy Factsheet: Romania.
180 Ibid.; RES Legal (2016), ‘Legal sources on renewable energy: Summary: Romania’.