Overview

Energy Strategy 2025-2035, launched in 2024 by the Romanian government, outlines the country’s long-term energy goals, including energy security, low-carbon energy, and energy efficiency as well as aiming towards a diverse energy mix composed of coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric, and renewable sources. These goals were driven by EU priorities.
Romania has set a series of ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The energy sector remains a focal point for investment, with significant projects underway to enhance energy security and sustainability, including projects to expand gas and nuclear capacities.

Romania aims to increase its energy capacity by 2025, focusing on renewable energy sources and gas-fired power plants. The Romanian Energy Ministry expects around 2.5 GW of new power capacity to be commissioned. This follows 1.2 GW of power that was already put into operation in 2024.

Romania’s focus on energy security and building a low-carbon economy creates many opportunities for U.S. companies to supply products and services that will help achieve its goals. Major private and SOE projects in 2025 include:
•    Mintia gas-fired power plant (expected at the end of 2025) - 1 GW
•    Iernut gas-fired power plant - 430 MW
•    Navodari gas-fired CHP plant - 80 MW
•    Răstolița hydropower plant - 30 MW

In addition, private projects financed through the Romanian Resilience and Recovery Plan (PNRR) are expected to bring 1.2-1.5 GW from renewable sources, and battery storage is expected to double its capacity, reaching 400-500 MWh, through projects financed by the government’s EU-aided National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). These investments will add at least 2.5 GW of new capacity to the national energy system, including at least 600 MW of base-load production, significantly contributing to Romania’s energy security. 

Romania also has two operational nuclear reactors at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, which contribute a significant portion of the country’s electricity, but also significant natural gas reserves and production facilities, making it a key player in the regional natural gas market. Moreover, Romania exports and imports electricity to and from neighboring countries, including Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, and Moldova, and is also part of the European Union’s internal energy market, which aims to create a single, competitive market for electricity and gas across EU member states.

In April 2025, Romania’s electricity production value amounted to 3.734 TWh, out of which the energy output consisted of 31.9 TWh, while imports amounted to 30.14 TWh. Romania’s own electricity output and imports totaled 11.791 TWh combined in the review period, up 0.5% year-on-year. Domestic electricity production alone dropped by 16.6% to 8.714 TWh. Moreover, approximately 50% of generated power (delivered by producers) has renewable resources as follows: hydropower at around 30%, wind at 11%, photo-voltaic at 13%, and biomass at 0.1%.

Leading Sub-sectors

Nuclear Sector 

Romania is a key market for small modular reactors (SMRs). Romania’s 462 MWe project at Doicești is the most advanced in the European Union, making it the first European market to deploy an SMR (3rd generation technology) by 2030. This will increase Romania’s nuclear capacity to a total of 2,480 MWe/2.48 GWe by 2040, representing a significant amount of power capable of powering a large city or a substantial portion of a smaller country. 

In addition, Romania owns two operational nuclear reactors, Units 1 and 2, and is in the process of building two additional nuclear reactors, Units 3 and 4, by 2032 at its Cernavodă nuclear site. Units 1 and 2 are pressurized heavy water reactors that use Canadian Deuterium Uranium technology (3rd generation, CANDU-6 technology) and individually produce 650 MWe, while Units 3 and 4 will individually produce 700 MWe when commissioned. 

Romania’s current civil nuclear efforts underway include:
1.    Cernavodă Power Plant – Refurbishing Units 1 & 2
2.    Cernavodă Power Plant – Expanding CANDU Units 3 & 4
3.    Doicești – Building Romania’s First Small Modular Reactor

Oil and Gas

Romania has adopted a long-term strategy regarding natural gas in the European Green Pact, as it forecasts that this resource will remain a crucial tool in transforming the energy sector and transitioning to a more sustainable and carbon-neutral economy.
Romania’s Neptun Deep offshore gas project, a major source of natural gas in the Black Sea, is on track for production in 2027 with an estimated production of about 8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas. The project is expected to double Romania’s gas production and potentially make it a net exporter, contributing to the EU’s shift away from Russian gas. While initial gas production is planned for 2027, drilling for the first of ten wells began in March 2025. This is Romania’s largest natural gas project in the Black Sea, a joint venture between OMV Petrom (majority-owned by Austria’s OMV) and Romanian state-owned Romgaz. Neptun Deep is the largest natural gas project in the Romanian Black Sea and the first deepwater offshore project in Romania. The estimated investments for the project’s development phase are up to EUR 4 bln.

Moreover, Romania is also focused on exploiting the Caragele large onshore natural gas field. This is because this conventional gas field has recovered 26.71% of its total recoverable reserves, with peak production in 2021. Based on economic assumptions, production will continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2097. The field currently accounts for approximately 4% of the country’s daily output.
In addition, Romania has additional natural gas production through Black Sea Oil & Gas’ (BSOG’s) Midia Natural Gas Development Project.

LNG at the Black Sea

Romania is currently in the process of building an onshore LNG terminal at the Port of Constanta. This decision was a result of the Black Sea not owning an LNG terminal, a fact which gave Turkey the leverage to decide which LNG tankers are allowed to pass through Istanbul and the Bosphorus Strait. Romania’s project has a total value of € 900 million, with a completion deadline of 2026, and is a proposal by Romgaz, which is majority-owned by the Romanian Government. 

In addition, since 2020, Romania has prioritized building the Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria (BRUA) pipeline allows gas from the Black Sea, re-gasified U.S. LNG, and Caspian gas to be transported to both Romania and other regional markets. The 308.3-kilometre Tuzla-Podisor pipeline, expected to be completed in 2025, will connect the Neptun Deep gas to the BRUA and the Transbalkan (T1) pipeline.

Coal Sector

Romania’s coal production is expected to decrease in the coming years as Romania is currently under a strict deadline to phase out coal by 2026. Moreover, Romania will lean on gas power to cover its 2026 exit as the market has decimated its coal production. This is evident by looking at Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CE Oltenia). Active coal plants had an overall 1.9 GW in April 2024, compared to 5.3 GW in 2012. As a result, CE Oltenia plans to replace its coal-based energy production with gas power facilities in Ișalnița and Turceni by 2026, though Romania is officially planning to complete its coal phaseout by 2032.

Renewable Energy 

To reach its 2030 renewables target of 34% (previously set to 30.7%), Romania aims to add another 2 GW of installed capacity, with 1 GW dedicated to large-scale projects and 1 GW to self-consumption. Romania is also supporting rooftop photovoltaic deployment via the Casa Verde Fotovoltaice (Green PV Home) program for residential solar installations under the national net metering regime. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Romania had 4.7 GW of installed solar capacity at the end of 2024.

Opportunities

Nuclear 

The U.S.-Romania Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement towards the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Projects and the Civil Nuclear Power Sector entered into force July 28, 2021. The agreement targeted several fields of cooperation such as constructing Cernavoda Units 3 and 4 and refurbishing Unit 1. Opportunities for U.S. companies include:
·    Cernavodă Power Plant –Constructing CANDU Units 3 & 4: workforce development, engineering services, technical assistance, and specialized nuclear components and equipment
·    Cernavodă Power Plant – Refurbishing Units 1 engineering and consulting services, maintenance and support services, specialized nuclear components and equipment, and management services. 

In addition, Romania is currently on its way to becoming the first European market to deploy an SMR (3rd generation technology) in Doicești by 2030. This will increase Romania’s nuclear capacity to a total of 2,480 MWe/2.48 GWe by 2040. Opportunities for U.S. companies in the SMR project include EPC, operations and maintenance, consulting (safety and regulatory), workforce development and training, supply chain, and manufacturing.

Power Production and Distribution 

American companies can find opportunities for their equipment, expertise, technologies, design and construction, installation, upgrading, maintenance, and repair services in electrical power systems, products, and services related to energy efficiency, smart grid, power distribution, power and gas storage, and refurbishment/construction of power generation capacities. In Romania, as of May 2025, the installed power in electricity production capacities was: 30.36% Hydro; 11.47% Coal; 18.85% Hydrocarb; 25.3% Nuclear; 13.2% Solar; 0.8% Biomass.

Oil and Gas 

As reported in the Transgaz (the national transport system operator, hereinafter “SNT”) National Natural Gas Transport System Development Plan for 2024-2033, several possible strategic investment projects are on the horizon: capacity increase for BRUA; new developments tied to the Black Sea extracted gas; interconnection of SNT to a future LNG terminal by the Black Sea; regasification installation by the Black Sea, to take over liquified gas imported with specialized ships and to prepare the gas for the entry into Transgaz SNT pipelines; modernization of stations Isaccea and Negru Voda.

Renewables

In 2025, Romania’s budget for renewable resources involves a combination of EU funding, domestic investments, and support for both large-scale and smaller projects. A key focus is on expanding renewable energy capacity through auctions, incentives, and regulatory changes, particularly in solar and wind power as well as battery storage. Additionally, there are initiatives to support self-consumption projects for businesses and public entities.

Wind Energy

Romania’s wind energy capacity is projected to reach 3.47 GW in 2025. This is an increase compared to the 3 GW capacity over the past five years. Moreover, the Romanian government also aims to achieve at least 3 GW of additional renewable capacity by 2026.

Romania is implementing a Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme to provide revenue stability for renewable energy projects. Currently, it is undergoing a second round of the CfD mechanism with a total volume of 3,472 MW, financed with €3 billion from the Modernization Fund. The auction will also include 1,472 MW of solar and 2,000 MW of onshore wind and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2025.

PV Energy

According to the National Regulatory Authority (ANRE), in 2025, Romania currently has a total of 5 GW installed solar capacity and aims to have an additional 2 GW of installed capacity, with 1 GW dedicated to large-scale projects and 1 GW to self-consumption. The country aims to be one of the European Union’s hubs for wind and PV, with such power plants installed throughout the country. 

Moreover, Romania is on its way to have the biggest PV project in Europe, employing over 1,000 local individuals. This project is located in Arad County (western Romania). The photovoltaic project launched by Monsson, for 1.04 GW, received the final approvals in December 2024 and has a total estimated value of 1 billion with Dama Solar valued at 800 million € and an additional 200 million € to be spent on batteries. 

Biomass Energy

In 2025, Romania plans to significantly increase its use of biomass energy, aiming for a usage between 50-80 million MWh, corresponding to 21.5 to 35.8 million tons of biomass. This is part of the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate Change 2021-2030, which also includes plans for a total of 2.5 GW of new power capacity, including renewable sources like solar and wind. 

In terms of the energy potential of biomass, Romania’s territory is split into eight regions: Danube Delta (Biosphere Reserve), Dobrogea, Moldavia, Carpathian Mountains (Eastern, Southern, Western-Apuseni), Transylvanian Plateau, Western Plain, Carpathians Hills and South Plain.

For further information, please contact:
Maria Petrescu, Commercial Specialist
Maria.Petrescu@trade.gov