Romania’s first published grid-capacity allocation schedule covers 1,566 MW across selected zones and sets prices for future network access. Under the relevant table, none of the capacity is available before 2032, making connection timing a central factor for developers and investors assessing projects.
The largest blocks are scheduled for 2036, while some zones have no available capacity during the period covered. Starting prices range from roughly €136,000 to €719,000 per MW, depending on location, network level and commissioning year.
Scarce grid capacity is becoming a decisive factor in renewable-energy investment across Southeast Europe. A technically viable project with a secured connection can be materially more valuable than a competing project with better land but no firm grid position. Lenders are expected to treat connection timing, reinforcement obligations, curtailment exposure and the legal strength of grid agreements as core due-diligence items.
The same constraints are evident elsewhere in the region. Greece is curtailing more renewable energy because generation has expanded faster than grid and storage capacity. Serbia has constrained new renewable-connection studies, while the maturity of grid arrangements is increasingly differentiating larger projects in Montenegro. Bulgaria’s battery boom is partly a response to the need to use existing network capacity more efficiently.
Grid scarcity is also affecting mergers and acquisitions. Operating or late-stage wind, solar and storage projects with secure connection rights may attract a premium by offering earlier access to a congested system. Nominally large pipelines may have little value when connection dates are distant or reinforcement costs uncertain; projects with enforceable connection rights, credible commissioning dates and known reinforcement costs should be easier to finance. Developers with large pipelines may face a different valuation when network access is uncertain or distant.