While capital and investor appetite for renewable energy projects remain strong, the biggest obstacles continue to emerge during project implementation, according to Roxana Gureanu, CEO of Parapet, speaking at the Energy CEO Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“Capital is available, and there is also a strong appetite for investment. However, the biggest challenges and problems always arise during the implementation phase, particularly in the gap between what we, in the industry, plan and what can be delivered in real time,” Gureanu said.

She noted that challenges occur throughout the entire construction cycle, from permitting and grid connection to energy storage integration and grid development.

Parapet currently operates in Romania, Germany, and Italy, giving the company firsthand experience with different regulatory and operational environments across Europe.

“Germany is an extremely mature market with high barriers to entry. We have been active there since 2016 and participated in the accelerated expansion of renewable energy projects. Even there, we witnessed significant challenges related to grid connection, which often caused delays for investors,” Gureanu said.

She added that Germany’s experience provided valuable lessons for Parapet’s operations elsewhere.

“We adopted best practices from Germany and are now applying them in Romania. We work with multiple scenarios, assessing what happens if we encounter similar situations and how we can address them. Geopolitical developments are also integrated into our planning process,” she said.

Italy has become another strategic growth market for the company, particularly as photovoltaic and agrivoltaics projects gain momentum.

“We are investing aggressively in Italy, where one of the greatest challenges is finding qualified labor. Beyond workforce shortages, regulatory and permitting processes often take longer than expected and can generate delays,” Gureanu said.

She stressed that workforce availability has become one of the defining issues for the renewable energy sector.

“In the past, an EPC contractor was expected to deliver only the construction phase. Today, EPC companies must integrate engineering, procurement, and supply chain management, all of which require a high degree of predictability,” she said.

That predictability has become increasingly difficult to achieve due to ongoing geopolitical tensions.

“We are operating in a geopolitical environment shaped by the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East. As a result, forecasting and planning have become much more challenging,” she added.

According to Gureanu, labor shortages are already affecting project delivery across Europe.

“A European study conducted among EPC companies found that 70% experienced delays in renewable energy project delivery, particularly in solar and wind projects, due to a lack of qualified labor. In addition, 29% reported losing business opportunities for the same reason,” she said.

Despite these challenges, Gureanu believes Romania is well-positioned to become a major player in the European renewable energy value chain.

“I believe Romania is privileged in this regard. Parapet, a Romanian company founded in Cluj, has successfully expanded across Europe and internationally, delivering more than 450 projects with 257 employees and over 2 GW of installed capacity. This demonstrates that Romania has an exceptionally skilled workforce and a strong foundation on which to build future competencies,” she said.

She highlighted the growing importance of energy storage, SCADA systems, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence in supporting the next phase of industry growth.

“Romania has a major opportunity to become a regional hub for the construction of renewable energy projects. Renewable energy will be a key pillar in the reconstruction of Ukraine, and this creates significant opportunities for Romanian companies and expertise,” Gureanu said.

She also emphasized that discussions about renewable energy can no longer be separated from energy storage, digitalization, and grid expansion.

“When we talk about renewable energy today, we must also talk about storage, digitalization, and the capacity expansion of the power system. Recent production data shows that photovoltaic generation has supplied more than 60% of Romania’s electricity consumption during certain hours on some days. This indicates that we are entering a new phase of the energy transition,” she said.

While acknowledging concerns about energy costs, Gureanu argued that technology will play a central role in improving efficiency and scalability.

“I agree that energy remains expensive. As an EPC company, we, at Parapet, are contributing by delivering projects faster and with greater predictability. On an industry scale, this can only be achieved through the integration of artificial intelligence, digitalization, and advanced technologies. If these solutions are implemented only at the company level, it will be extremely difficult not only to scale in Romania but also to compete effectively across Europe and internationally,” she concluded.