Powering Romania’s Energy Transition | Editorial Series by The Diplomat-Bucharest
“Romania’s energy infrastructure has been affected by decades of underinvestment, delayed modernization, and inconsistent strategic planning. What we are experiencing today is therefore not a short-term crisis, but the cumulative effect of long-term postponements in system flexibility and adequacy, be it generation and networks.
At the same time, Romania still benefits from several structural advantages: a diversified energy mix, important natural gas resources, hydro and nuclear capabilities, strong renewable potential, and a strategic geographical position in South-Eastern Europe. These advantages can support both competitiveness and regional energy security if they are properly leveraged,” Corneliu Bodea, CEO of Adrem told The Diplomat-Bucharest.
“Investments in grids and storage should no longer be treated as secondary infrastructure. They are becoming the backbone of the energy transition. Without major investments in transmission, distribution, digitalization and storage, the current boom in renewable generation risks creating congestion, curtailment, and price volatility instead of long-term value and competitiveness.
How do you evaluate Romania in terms of cost competitiveness versus productivity in the energy sector, amid rising EU carbon pricing?
Romania remains relatively competitive from a cost perspective, but productivity in the energy sector is still catching up with Western European standards. The impact of carbon pricing through the EU Emissions Trading System is clearly increasing pressure on fossil-based generation, particularly coal, but also on gas-fired assets that are expected to provide flexibility to the system.
What differentiates Romania today is the scale of the investment cycle that has finally started to accelerate. We are seeing between 1.5 and 2 GW of new renewable capacity added in 2026 alone, alongside more than 2 GW of flexible gas capacity in advanced stages of development. In parallel, investments in grids, digitalization, storage, and interconnections are becoming increasingly important, because competitiveness will no longer be determined only by generation costs, but by the ability of the system to integrate large volumes of variable renewable energy efficiently and securely.
The productivity issue has deeper structural roots. Romania’s energy infrastructure has been affected by decades of underinvestment, delayed modernization, and inconsistent strategic planning. What we are experiencing today is therefore not a short-term crisis, but the cumulative effect of long-term postponements in system flexibility and adequacy, be it generation and networks.
At the same time, Romania still benefits from several structural advantages: a diversified energy mix, important natural gas resources, hydro and nuclear capabilities, strong renewable potential, and a strategic geographical position in South-Eastern Europe. These advantages can support both competitiveness and regional energy security if they are properly leveraged.
There is also an important broader European lesson here. The debate is often framed as if decarbonization automatically undermines competitiveness, but the data increasingly shows a decoupling between economic growth and emissions. Since 1990, the EU has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 37%, while the European economy grew by around 68–71% over the same period. This demonstrates that economic development and emissions reduction are no longer mutually exclusive, particularly when investments are directed toward innovation, electrification, efficiency, renewables, and modern infrastructure.
Romania itself reflects part of this trend. The challenge now is to accelerate modernization fast enough so that decarbonization also translates into higher industrial productivity, lower long-term energy costs, and greater resilience. The positive signal is that Romania is keeping the pace, supported by European instruments such as the Modernisation Fund and other EU financing mechanisms. If this investment momentum is maintained, productivity will gradually improve, carbon intensity will decrease, and Romania can remain competitive even in an environment of rising carbon costs. In reality, the challenge is no longer whether decarbonization will happen, but whether Europe — and Romania within it — can decarbonize while preserving industrial competitiveness, affordability, and security of supply simultaneously.
How could public authorities better support investors in energy projects?
I would say the key word here is anticipation because the high prices and infrastructure constraints we discuss today are largely the result of decisions — or lack of decisions — from 10 to 20 years ago. Energy systems cannot be transformed overnight. Public authorities therefore need to move from reactive crisis management toward long-term strategic planning and predictability.
At the same time, one of the strongest conclusions emerging today at regional level, including from the discussions within the Three Seas Initiative held earlier this month, is that fragmentation itself has become a strategic vulnerability. Energy markets, infrastructure planning, regulatory approaches, and investment frameworks are still too fragmented across the region. In a context marked by geopolitical tensions, industrial competition and accelerating electrification, energy security can no longer be viewed only as an energy-sector topic — it has become a matter of economic security, industrial security, and national security.
Three priorities stand out in my opinion.
First, the acceleration of permitting procedures and grid connections. Investor appetite in Romania is currently very strong, particularly in renewables and storage, but administrative timelines and limited grid capacity remain major bottlenecks. In many cases, investors are ready to deploy capital faster than the infrastructure or permitting frameworks allow. Reducing bureaucracy, digitalizing approval processes, and increasing institutional coordination would significantly improve the investment climate. AI and digital tools could also play a role in simplifying and accelerating authorization and network planning processes.
Second, authorities need a clearer strategic vision regarding both the future energy mix and the future energy demand. The debate should no longer be framed as renewables versus gas versus nuclear. Europe and Romania need all of them. The real challenge is system integration and flexibility: how to combine renewables, flexible gas capacity, nuclear energy, storage, interconnections, and demand-side management into a resilient and affordable system. But generation planning alone is no longer sufficient. We also need a long-term strategy regarding where future demand will come from — electrification of transport and heating, industrial processes, hydrogen, digital infrastructure, AI-driven data centers, and new manufacturing capacities. Generation, grids, and demand growth must be developed in correlation, otherwise infrastructure risks becoming either insufficient or economically inefficient. Investors need long-term visibility and policy stability in order to commit capital to projects with investment horizons of 20–40 years.
Third, there must be stronger alignment between national priorities and European and international financing mechanisms. Romania has access to unprecedented funding opportunities through the Modernisation Fund, Innovation Fund, Just Transition Fund, and other instruments, but absorption capacity and project preparation remain critical challenges. Faster implementation is becoming just as important as access to funding itself.
At the same time, investments in grids and storage should no longer be treated as secondary infrastructure. They are becoming the backbone of the energy transition. Without major investments in transmission, distribution, digitalization and storage, the current boom in renewable generation risks creating congestion, curtailment, and price volatility instead of long-term value and competitiveness.
More broadly, Europe and Romania also need to rethink infrastructure planning in a more anticipatory way. The future energy system will require significantly higher electrification, new industrial demand, EV integration, AI-driven data centers and increased cross-border flows. Waiting for demand to fully materialize before investing may create structural delays. This is why the concept of anticipatory investments is becoming increasingly important, investing ahead of demand in order to avoid future bottlenecks and preserve both competitiveness and security of supply.
How confident are you about Romania’s energy security outlook for 2026–2030, given geopolitical disruptions?
I am cautiously optimistic.
Romania is in a relatively strong position compared to many other European countries due to its diversified energy mix, domestic natural gas resources, hydro and nuclear capabilities, and the scale of investments currently underway. This creates a stronger foundation for resilience in a highly volatile geopolitical environment.
At the same time, recent geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Gulf region and the broader Middle East, have demonstrated how exposed international energy systems remain. We have already seen gas prices double in relatively short periods due to geopolitical uncertainty, which confirms that volatility has become a structural feature of the market, not an exception. The evolution from this point forward will depend significantly on the duration of the conflict and the level of destruction affecting regional infrastructure. A prolonged escalation would inevitably continue to impact global energy prices and investor confidence.
What is important, however, is that this volatility is no longer translating proportionally into electricity prices in Romania. Electricity prices have increased just slightly, and I do not expect major additional increases from this point forward. On the contrary, I expect a gradual downward trend, although with some delay, as new generation capacities enter the market and infrastructure bottlenecks begin to ease.
Strategic projects such as Neptun Deep and new flexible gas-fired capacity such as the Mintia Power Plant project will significantly strengthen Romania’s resilience and regional role in energy security. At the same time, the accelerated deployment of renewable energy reduces import dependency and improves long-term competitiveness. Romania also has the opportunity to become an increasingly important stabilizing actor in South-Eastern Europe, particularly through its nuclear resurrection strategy, regional interconnections, and cross-border infrastructure.
However, energy security today must be understood differently than in the past. It is no longer only about having sufficient volumes of energy resources. The new definition of energy security increasingly revolves around flexibility, adaptability, and system integration. This means storage capacity, grid modernization, digitalization, balancing capabilities, cross-border interconnections, and the ability to manage volatility in real time. Without these elements, even a country with significant domestic resources can experience instability.
Another important lesson emerging from regional discussions, including within the Three Seas Initiative Summit, is that fragmentation itself creates vulnerability. Fragmented infrastructure, fragmented regulation, and insufficient regional coordination reduce resilience precisely when Europe needs greater integration. In this context, energy security is no longer only an energy issue — it is directly connected to economic security, industrial competitiveness, and geopolitical stability.
Overall, I believe Romania’s outlook for 2026–2030 is positive, provided the current investment momentum continues and strategic projects are delivered on time. The key challenge will not necessarily be access to energy resources, but the speed at which Romania can modernize its infrastructure and integrate new capacities into a more flexible and interconnected regional system.
Where do you see the biggest growth opportunities in Romania’s energy mix during this period?
The biggest growth opportunity is clearly in renewables combined with flexibility. Romania is entering a phase of accelerated expansion in solar and wind energy, but the real value of these investments will depend less on how much capacity is installed and more on how effectively it is integrated into the system. The next stage of the energy transition is no longer only about adding megawatts — it is about managing complexity.
This is why flexibility technologies will become critical. We are likely to see a significant scaling of storage capacity in the coming years, alongside the development of flexible gas-fired generation that can provide balancing and stability during the transition period. At the same time, digitalized grids, smart metering, AI-driven forecasting, and demand-side management will increasingly determine the efficiency and resilience of the system.
One of the most underestimated transformations is happening at the distribution level. Prosumers already represent over 4 GW of installed capacity in Romania, which is remarkable. They contribute directly to energy production and consumer empowerment, but they also create a new layer of complexity for grid operators, especially during peak production hours when local networks can become congested. This means the future energy system will require much more real-time coordination, digitalization, and flexibility than traditional centralized systems.
Another major opportunity lies in electrification itself. Romania has significant room for growth in electric mobility, industrial electrification, heat pumps, data centers and new energy-intensive industries. If managed correctly, this could create a virtuous cycle where rising electricity demand supports investments in new generation, grids and storage, improving long-term economies of scale and lowering systemic costs. In many ways, the future competitiveness of the Romanian economy will increasingly depend on the availability of affordable, secure and low-carbon electricity.
Romania has an important strategic opportunity in becoming a regional energy hub in South-Eastern Europe. Projects such as Neptun Deep, new nuclear, new interconnections, LNG-related regional flows and grid modernization could strengthen Romania’s position as a stabilizing actor in the region. In the current geopolitical context, this is not only an economic opportunity, but also a strategic one.
Finally, the biggest long-term opportunity may come from integration itself: integrating generation with infrastructure, integrating electricity with digital technologies, integrating national systems regionally, and integrating energy policy with industrial policy. The countries that manage this transition coherently and anticipatively will likely gain the strongest competitive advantage over the next decade.
What investment priorities will define your company’s roadmap in Romania’s energy sector over the next 3–5 years?
We recognize the need for storage capacity capable of absorbing production overflows and stabilizing the system, which is why we are increasingly focusing on standalone battery projects, as well as hybrid solutions integrated into larger renewable developments. At the same time, storage alone will not be enough.
Romania’s next major challenge will be interconnection and export capacity. We are moving toward a period of energy abundance, especially in electricity generation, but without stronger regional interconnectivity and grid modernization, part of these potential risks remaining underutilized. This is another area where we want Adrem to play an active role through infrastructure projects, grid modernization, automation, and digitalization.
I remain a strong believer in a healthy and balanced energy mix. I do not think the future belongs to a single technology. I believe resilient energy systems are built through balance between renewables, gas, nuclear, storage, and intelligent networks capable of managing increasingly complex flows of energy and data, and this is, ultimately, where I believe Adrem’s expertise belongs best.
What were your company’s most significant completed projects during 2024-2026?
The last two years have been extremely important for our company and, honestly, I am grateful to say that we are currently in a very strong period, both operationally and strategically.
We have several major projects ongoing at the moment, especially in renewables and grid modernization, but if I were to focus on completed executions, I would highlight a few projects that are particularly meaningful for us.
One of them is the grid connection infrastructure for a 140 MW wind park developed together with PPC, where Adrem acted as EPC contractor. Our teams worked on this project for more than a year, contributing to the integration into the grid of energy capable of supplying approximately 62,000 households in the Vaslui area. Projects like this are important not only because of their size, but because they reflect the speed at which Romania’s energy system is transforming.
Another accomplishment I am particularly proud of comes from our automation division: the development and implementation of the first integrated asset management solution dedicated to Distribution System Operators in Romania.
The platform integrates data from SCADA, SAP, GIS, ERP, and multiple operational systems into a unified architecture managing more than 500,000 grid assets. It includes four major components — EAM, APM, AIP, and NMM — and transforms operational data into predictive maintenance and investment planning decisions.
We implemented this solution together with our partners DEER and DEO, and the results have been extremely encouraging. The platform contributed to reducing outage duration indicators (SAIDI) by up to 30%, lowering unplanned failures by 20–40%, and generating operational cost reductions estimated between 10–20%. It also significantly improved investment planning efficiency, while the average recovery period for the investment itself is estimated at around 3–5 years.
For us, this project is important because it reflects where the energy sector is heading: from infrastructure management toward data-driven infrastructure intelligence.
We do have a lot of other accomplishments: Adrem became Romania’s largest smart meter installer sometime last year, while more than 5 million consumers currently benefit from metering services delivered by our teams for major Romanian DSOs.
I am confident that the next two years will bring even more ambitious projects for us. I am not at liberty to discuss every single one of them yet, but I can tell we are focusing a lot on renewables, flexibility, digitalization, and network modernization — areas where we strongly believe the future of energy will be shaped.