Romania will surpass last year’s record in solar deployment after installing around 1.5 GW of new solar capacity in the first five months of 2026, according to Irene Mihai, policy director of the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA).
Speak with pv magazine Speaking at the Smarter E event in Munich, Mihai said Romania added around 800 MW of utility-scale solar and a similar volume of prosumer installations between January and early June.
Further growth expected
Mihai expects annual deployment to continue to increase through 2027, supported by a significant pipeline of large-scale projects.
One of these is the Ogrezeni hybrid project, which is being developed by Vienna-based independent energy producer Enery. Mihai said the 760 MW solar project, coupled with 1 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS), will become Europe’s largest solar park once commissioned, which is expected to be by the end of 2027.
In addition to the Ogrezeni project, there are several other utility-scale projects ranging from 200 MW and above that are currently under construction and nearing completion.
Mihai attributed the continued growth mainly to regulatory improvements that have streamlined renewable energy development in recent years.
“I would like to mention first of all the general framework for the development of renewable energy sources,” she said pv magazine. “The capacities that were allowed for two or three years last year are now being deployed.”
Mihai added that the Romanian market is becoming more mature and no longer dependent on subsidies and government financing.
“We had strong support from the EU funds that powered the first installations,” she said. “Now, however, we are seeing a more seller-based approach.”
The Romanian transmission system operator is also preparing to move from a first-come, first-served network connection model to an auction-based allocation system. Mihai said the market is watching closely to see how the reforms affect future development, although projects already under construction will not be affected.
PPA market is gaining momentum
Mihai told pv magazine developers are increasingly entering into power purchase agreements (PPAs) as projects become commercially viable without direct support mechanisms.
“We see that many of the projects are signing or have signed PPAs or are looking forward to signing PPAs,” she said.
Mihai said Romania’s planned entry into the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB), which will make guarantees of certificates of origin tradable outside the country, could give new impetus to the country’s growing PPA market.
The Romanian PPA market only reopened in 2021 after the lifting of a long-standing ban. Mihai told pv magazine that almost 40 PPAs have been signed since 2022. Solar and wind energy account for a similar share of deals, while hybrid projects are beginning to develop, with market participants exploring how batteries can be integrated into future PPA structures.
Storage growth is accelerating
Battery storage deployment is also accelerating in both the utility and prosumer segments in Romania.
Mihai estimated that about 400 MW of battery capacity has been installed at scale since the start of the year, bringing the national total to about 1 GW and about 2 GWh. Existing solar assets are also increasingly being hybridized with battery systems, alongside a large pipeline of standalone battery projects.
Battery use is also increasing dramatically on the residential side. “At the beginning of January, almost no prosumers had batteries, because the focus was on the use of solar energy,” says Mihai. “And now a third of them, so about 100,000 people and companies, have already deployed batteries.”
RPIA’s discussions with the Romanian transmission system operator and regulators indicate that approximately 800 MW of residential and C&I batteries have been installed in the country.
Mihai explained that the growth in home batteries has so far occurred independently of subsidy schemes, although the government plans to replace its rebate scheme for residential solar energy with support for storage installations.
“It appears that the rebate scheme will also cover batteries for existing solar installations, regardless of whether they are financed [former solar rebate scheme] Casa Verde or financed through personal funds,” Mihai said pv magazine. “But what I can tell you is that many prosumers aren’t actually counting on these funds to deploy batteries, they’re already doing it. So it’s clear there’s a lot of interest in batteries.”
