The State Domains Agency has completed the REPowerEU reform under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), making over 32,000 hectares of unproductive land available for investments in renewable energy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) announced on Thursday.

'The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), through the State Domains Agency (ADS), announces the successful completion and full absorption of the funds allocated for Reform 1 under Component 16 , REPowerEU, financed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The project, implemented between June 14, 2024, and August 31, 2026, benefited from a non-reimbursable European budget of 3,011,752 euros,' states a press release from the MADR.

All three milestones committed to under the NRRP (508, 509, and 510) were met on schedule. The most significant strategic outcome is the identification and delineation of 32,074.79 hectares of land suitable for major investments in renewable energy (solar and wind), selected from a total of over 84,000 hectares that underwent rigorous assessment through pedological and agrochemical studies, the cited source states.

'The measure is intended to support national security and energy independence objectives through a clear principle of economic responsibility: the protection of fertile agricultural land. Consequently, the areas designated for green energy parks consist exclusively of degraded, low-productivity land (quality classes IV and V) or non-productive land belonging to the state. Through this initiative, productive agriculture remains unaffected; instead, the energy potential of land that offered no agricultural yield is harnessed, alongside the digitalization and full equipping of the state's oversight capabilities,' the statement notes.

In the document, the Ministry of Agriculture presents the concrete results of the three completed PNRR milestones.

Thus, under Milestone 508, 'State-of-the-art technical equipment and green mobility', the operational capacity of the ADS (State Domains Agency) in the field has been strengthened and modernized through the acquisition of four 100% electric utility vehicles, intended for inspections, monitoring, and travel to field sites. Furthermore, high-resolution geospatial equipment, including professional drones and RTK stations for high-precision topographic measurements, was procured, and the IT infrastructure was upgraded. Technical staff have also received training in the use of these new digital technologies.

Under Milestone 509 - Predictability and a transparent legal framework, the regulatory framework necessary for attracting private capital and accelerating procedures was established through the adoption of Law no. 159/2026. This law concerns the privatization of companies that manage state-owned agricultural land (both public and private property of the state) and provides for the creation of the National Authority for the Administration of State Domains, Fisheries, and Aquaculture. Furthermore, Order no. 208/2026 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) was issued; this normative act officially designated 32,074.79 hectares (classified as categories IV-V or unproductive) as sites suitable for photovoltaic and wind energy projects.

Under Milestone 510, National Mapping and the operationalization of the RUITN Register, 84,358 hectares were analyzed in detail through 260 pedological and agrochemical studies at the level of administrative-territorial units, as well as 40 county-level studies. Furthermore, the RUITN Register was made operational; this is an IT platform integrated with a GIS system (Urbis Web Server 2.0) that enables the centralized collection, processing, and management of geospatial data, providing the state with an accurate, transparent, and real-time record of land assets.

'With the completion of this reform, the State Domains Agency is transforming its way of working: decisions regarding the administration of public land are now based on rigorous geospatial data and advanced digital tools, while simultaneously creating the conditions to attract green investments without jeopardizing the country's productive agricultural areas,' the Ministry of Agriculture's statement further notes. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Andreea Marinescu; EN - writing by: Catalin Cristian Trandafir)