Alina Oprea • 20 November, 2023 at 10:35 AM
The Competition Council has completed the study on the authorization process of new energy production capacities from renewable sources, after which it made a series of recommendations to the ministries involved. Following the study, the competition authority found that among the aspects that complicate the authorization process and hinder investors' access to the market is the non-unitary interpretation of the legal provisions at the level of Territorial Administrative Units (UAT). As a result, the Competition Council recommended the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration (MLDPA) to ensure a unified interpretation at the level of UATs, by adopting, within the secondary legislation, the provisions of Annex no. 6 - Approvals required for the authorization of new constructions at The draft Code (initial version).
Since the removal of the land from the agricultural circuit is a mandatory procedure to be able to build renewable energy production capacities, projects that can be built outside the village, within the limit of 50 ha for agricultural land of the 3rd, 4th, and 4th classes V of quality, the Competition Council makes a series of recommendations to simplify the procedure.
Thus, the competition authority recommends the Ministry of Agriculture identify solutions that facilitate the procedure of removing the extra-village land from the agricultural circuit, so that the applicant interacts only with the County Agricultural Directorate, by submitting a single documentation, without involving several subordinate institutions in the ministry.
At the same time, steps are needed to allow the construction of photovoltaic and wind farms on agricultural lands, located outside the village, with quality class III, IV, and V (less fertile lands), regardless of the surface, but also the construction of wind farms on agricultural lands, located in the suburbs, with quality class I 2 and II (the most fertile), ensuring the purpose pursued from the perspective of agricultural production through the use of these lands in a dual system.
The process will be simplified with the entry into force of the Spatial Planning, Urban Planning, and Construction Code and the implementation of the Emergency Ordinance on the single industrial license, promoted by the Competition Council and the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism which aims to debureaucratize the business environment. Thus, all the licenses, authorizations, agreements, notices, or permits necessary to carry out the activity will be obtained in a single procedure, carried out electronically, through the single electronic point of contact for the industrial license, the construction authorization to be included in the single industrial license from dated January 1, 2025.
During the study, the Competition Council collaborated with the representatives of the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, and the Ministry of Agriculture to identify solutions to make the process of authorization of construction works more efficient.
The competition authority has completed another study aimed at the possible restriction of market access of energy producers from renewable sources in the process of obtaining the technical approval for connection (ATR) from the electricity transmission/distribution operator.
The final version of the "Study regarding the possible restriction of access to the market of energy producers from renewable sources, in the framework of the authorization/approval process by the public authorities" can be consulted on the institution's web page.