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Minister: Romania is in negotiations with the EU to extend the operation of coal-fired power plants

Romania has been in negotiations with the European Commission for at least five more years to delay the shutdown of 2.6 gigawatts coal-fired power generation, said Romanian Energy Minister Bogdan van on Tuesday.

Romania generates electricity using a combination of gas, coal and renewables. Under its European Union-funded package of recovery aid, the government committed to phase out lignite coal and hard coal by 2026.

The state-owned lignite holding CE Oltenia partnered with OMV Petrom and Tinmar to build gas-fired plants and solar parks to replace coal assets. However, the projects are expected to be completed later than originally planned.

Private developer MAS Group Holding has built a 1.7 GW gas and steam power plant in central Romania to replace the outdated hard coal-fired generation.

Ivan, the reporter, said: "Right away we are in fairly intense negotiations with a view to delaying the deadline by five years. This is a realistic date for when we connect new gas-fired units."

Since 2023, the country has asked for a delay.

Ivan stated that Romania would send Brussels a report highlighting the negative impacts on the economy and the power market which will be caused by the closure of coal assets by the year 2026.

He said that Romania also expected to add 12,96 GW of new gas, solar, wind, and nuclear power units by the year 2032 using EU funds, private investment, and state investments, including 2,25 GW for storage.

Ivan stated that "this will make us a nation from a net importer of power to a a net exporter."

Romania is expected to become a net exporter of gas in 2027, thanks to a large offshore gas project that will be operational by then. About 90% of the country's gas is produced locally by state-owned Romgaz, OMV Petrom oil and gas group and Black Sea Oil & Gas. (Reporting and editing by Kim Coghill; Luiza Ilie is the reporter)

(source: Reuters)