ADS inventories land for establishment of wind or PV power plants

Alina Oprea

7 November, 2023 at 5:00 PM

The State Domains Agency (ADS) has completed the scriptural inventory of state-owned land that could be used to establish wind or photovoltaic power plants. As part of the REPowerEU Plan, these areas will be precisely identified. Pedological land quality studies will be carried out so that only those unsuitable for agricultural production are earmarked for other activities, such as "green" energy production. Thus, approximately 8,500 hectares of unproductive agricultural land were identified, of which the most important areas are in Constanța County, 2,738 ha, in Brăila County, 1,550 ha, and in Argeș County, 1,222 ha.

To these are added approximately 76,000 ha, agricultural land classes IV and V, i.e. the weakest from the point of view of agricultural creditworthiness. The most important areas are in Călărași County, 26,625 ha, in Sibiu County, 9,377 ha, and in Dolj County, 4,906 ha.

Currently, state lands managed by ADS can only be used for agricultural activities. The REPowerEU Plan envisages amending the legislation to allow the classification as "acceleration zones for RES (renewable energy sources)" of those lands owned by the Romanian state and managed by ADS, which are classified as unproductive/degraded so that they can be used for the production of energy from renewable sources.

State-owned lands under the administration of ADS, identified as non-productive or of IV and V quality, called "RES acceleration zones", will be registered in the Single Inventory Register of Non-productive Lands. Establishing this Register is the first step foreseen by the REPowerEU Plan in the case of renewable energy investment projects and is the responsibility of the State Domains Agency.

"Pedological studies are critical because they will show which surfaces can be included in the Register. Without neglecting other responsibilities, ADS focuses on the activities leading up to the REPowerEU Plan because, after its approval by the European Commission, there will be limited time for implementation. And we don't want to lose the money for these projects", said the general director of ADS, Florin Nicolae.