The Romanian national conference on “Simplifying administrative procedures for the authorization of renewable energy installations” took place in Bucharest on 10-11 March 2011. The event gathered over 60 participants representing County Councils, central authorities (ministries and national agencies), local energy agencies, associations of local authorities and renewable energy producers. The purpose of the conference was to develop knowledge and awareness of County Councils’ representatives regarding the state of play of renewable energy production, investments and related legislation, the potential institutional changes to be made in order to improve the mechanisms to authorize RES-e production and the companies’ perspective on the topic. Moreover, the event was a perfect occasion for County Councils to present examples of good practices regarding the methods already used to encourage the production and investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The Government was represented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and the Business Environment and by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, together with the National Energy Regulation Authority and the National Environmental Protection Agency. The national and European energy policy topic was covered by Mrs. Lavinia Andrei, a highly experienced NGO leader, supported by Mrs. Liliana Mangeac, the representative of UNCJR in Brussels. The role of County Councils in developing the framework for and authorizing RES installations was explained by Mr. Adrian Badila, president of ALMA-RO, who also facilitated the entire meeting. Following the presentation of the Bucharest Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Agency on how to improve the existing legislation and procedures locally, three representatives of energy producers and their association (wind power, solar power and geothermal) expressed their points of view regarding critical aspects to improve when authorizing RES installations.
Following the event, a fifth County Council asked for permission to become one of the local authorities receiving technical support and counseling to implement simplified procedures for RES authorization, that will be dealt with in the next phase of the project. Also, several clear measures to be implemented both locally and nationally were expressed (one of them coming from the National Energy regulation Authority).