Romania maintains its assessment that by 2032 it will double its electricity production and become a major energy exporter in the region, however, for this to happen, an intelligent energy transition is needed, one that uses all the country's sources and resources to generate as much energy as possible, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.

According to the minister, Romania needs as much secure, affordable and clean energy as possible, in that order of priorities. Romania currently produces 7,117 MW, and the energy mix includes all available sources: hydrocarbons, coal, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, biomass, and even storage.

'The storage capacities implemented in the last two years are starting to show results. Until recently, Romania had a few megawatts of storage in batteries. In the new energy mix, at this moment, storage has exceeded biomass. And this year, we expect to exceed 1,000 MWh installed. Here, we have 80 million euros from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) (projects in execution) and another 300 million euros from the Modernisation Fund (one call under evaluation, the other in preparation). Coal is in second place, after gas, with over 1,505 MW. In these cold days, it strengthens our energy security. From the beginning, I have argued that we cannot close coal plants without replacing them with equivalent plants producing continuous power. Since the beginning of my mandate, I have not closed any MW, respecting this principle,' Burduja noted.

He underscored that these coal plants will be replaced with gas-fired power plants in the coming years. Additionally, Romania will have twice as much gas as it currently produces and consumes, through the exploitation of offshore gas in the Neptun Deep perimetre, but also from Caragele (and others). In the long term, gas plants will be replaced with nuclear-electrical plants, including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).

'We also have 844 MW of wind energy production and 245 MW of solar energy production (this does not include prosumers, who also contribute more and more),' said the Energy minister.

'As we massively increase storage capacity, we will be able to benefit from more green and affordable energy, even when the sun doesn't shine or the wind doesn't blow,' he added.

According to the quoted source, Romania has a balanced and diverse energy mix, as few countries in Europe and the world have today.

'The data above is a snapshot in time, of course, but the picture will look better and better in the coming years,' assures Sebastian Burduja.

In this context, Romania maintains its assessment that by 2032, it will double its electricity production and become a major energy exporter in the region.

'We have launched the most ambitious investment programme in the energy sector in the last 35 years, with new projects of over 10,000 MW solar and wind, 3,500 MW gas, 2,200 MW nuclear, the completion of hydroelectric plants under construction (at least 500 MW), the creation of the first pumped-storage hydropower plants (1,000 MW), battery storage (1,000 MW), and others. We maintain our assessment that by 2032, we will double our electricity production and become a major energy exporter in our region. For this, an intelligent energy transition is needed, one that uses all of Romania's sources and resources to generate as much energy as possible. This 'all of the above' approach is the right one. It will deliver Romania's real energy independence, the best possible price for Romanians' bills, and competitiveness for Romanian companies,' he further noted. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Tilica; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)