The Romanian Paradox: Lots of money for green energy, nothing to invest it in

  • February 17, 2022
  • start-up.ro
  • 2 min read

Romania finds itself in a paradoxical situation: while investors are more than eager to fund local renewable energy initiatives there seems to be a lack of such projects under the sun, says Claudiu Munteanu-Jipescu, a partner at the global law firm Dentons.

During a press briefing, multiple Dentons representatives have given insights on the current state of the Romanian business market, including relevant data about renewable energy, ESG strategies and the growth of the local startup ecosystem.

”What we can take away from the transactions that have happened last year on the local energy market is this: investors are more and more interested in renewable energy. But the market was not ready. There are more parties interested in purchasing or investing in green energy than there are actual projects and initiatives. Actually, there are plenty of entrepreneurs that are putting projects on the table, hoping to get funding, but when you take a closer look you find lots of flaws and inconsistencies in their businesses”, says Claudiu Munteanu-Jipescu.

Investors are interested mostly in funding renewable energy projects that harness wind or solar energy, especially in large scale operations. According to Munteanu-Jipescu, there have been investors looking for businesses that could provide them with over 100mWh of renewable energy.

According to the Dentons partner, Romania’s land ownership laws are to blame for this lack of investment opportunities: simply put, it’s very difficult to transform a piece of land that was being used for agricultural purposes into a solar or wind farm.

Read more about this situation on Green Start-Up.