Fast-Track for Green Energy: How GEO 59/2025 Changes Permitting Rules in Romania

1. “Acceleration areas for renewable energy projects”

GEO 59/2025 introduces into GEO 163/2022 a new set of articles (Art. 153–155) regulating the planning and designation of areas suitable for accelerating RES projects.

Key elements:

• the areas are defined so that their combined size “is significant and contributes to achieving the objectives set” in the NECP;
• only areas outside Natura 2000 sites, protected natural areas, listed monuments and protected built areas may be designated, subject to the environmental assessments required under Government Decision no. 1076/2004 and GEO no. 57/2007;
• for projects located in these areas, all competent authorities must apply the permitting procedures within the deadlines set out in Art. 161 of GEO 163/2022.

In addition, Arts. 154 and 155 require:

• public participation in drawing up the plans for acceleration areas;
• the designation of dedicated infrastructure areas for grids and storage, approved by Government Decision at the proposal of the Ministry of Energy, Transelectrica and distribution system operators, to support the integration of RES into the system.

In short: Romania now formally has RES “acceleration areas”, with dedicated rules and procedures.

2. Clear deadlines, digital procedures and a Single Contact Point

GEO 59/2025 amends the permitting procedure provisions in GEO 163/2022 by introducing:

• deadlines of 30 days (for projects in acceleration areas) and 45 days (outside acceleration areas) for local authorities to confirm that an application is complete or to request additional information; the date of confirmation marks the start of the permitting procedure;
• the role of the Office for Industrial Licensing – a single electronic contact point which assists the applicant throughout the administrative procedure, so that the developer “is not required to contact more than one contact point” for all permits, including environmental ones;
• the obligation that by 21 November 2025 all permitting procedures can be carried out in electronic format;
• a public information and technical advisory service through the Single Contact Point, designed also for small projects, prosumers and energy communities;
• a guarantee that administrative and judicial appeals related to RES projects, grid connection and network infrastructure are subject to “the fastest available administrative and judicial procedure at the relevant national, regional or local level”.

Bottom line: developers finally have explicit timelines, a functional one-stop shop and a legal obligation to fully digitalise procedures.

3. National-importance status for RES projects – Art. 166

By introducing the new Art. 166 into GEO 163/2022, GEO 59/2025 explicitly grants “national importance” status to renewable energy generation projects, their related grids and storage facilities.

The text provides that, starting 1 January 2026:

• competent authorities responsible for permitting, planning, construction and operation of RES plants, connection and related grids shall, on a case-by-case basis, treat these projects as being of national importance in the field of electricity;
• when balancing legal interests, they must take into account that these projects serve national security, public health and public safety;
• for certain projects, depending on the NECP, technical characteristics and environmental constraints, authorities may limit the application of Art. 166, but are obliged to inform the European Commission of such restrictions.

This article creates a powerful legal tool for prioritising RES projects in permitting procedures and when weighed against competing interests.

4. Self-consumption, prosumers and access to support schemes – Art. 21 of GEO 163/2022

GEO 59/2025 also amends and further develops Art. 21 of GEO 163/2022 by introducing paragraphs (6¹) and (6²) and strengthening the role of paragraph (6).

The new text does the following:

• the ordinance explicitly establishes “the legal framework for promoting and facilitating the development of renewable energy self-consumption” (Art. 21 (6));
• paragraph (6¹) sets out concrete obligations:
  • final customers, including vulnerable or low-income households, must have access to self-consumption;
  • unjustified barriers to project financing and measures facilitating access to finance are prohibited;
  • unjustified regulatory barriers to self-consumption, including for tenants, are prohibited;
  • building owners, including tenants, must have access to support schemes for electricity generation for self-consumption;
  • prosumers must have non-discriminatory access to support schemes and to all market segments for the energy they inject;
  • prosumers must contribute “in an appropriate and balanced way” to the total costs of connection to the public network.
• paragraph (6²) requires the line ministry, ANRE and local authorities to assess existing unjustified barriers and the potential for self-consumption in their territory.

In short, self-consumption and prosumers move from being “tolerated” to being actively supported rights, with clear obligations for authorities and operators.

5. PPAs and ANRE’s monitoring role – Art. 15 of GEO 163/2022

Another key pillar of the reform is the framework for power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable energy.

Through GEO 59/2025:

• Art. 15 (14) of GEO 163/2022 is rewritten: by 31 December 2026, the Ministry of Energy, in cooperation with ANRE, must assess legal and administrative barriers and, where appropriate, adopt regulations to remove unjustified obstacles to long-term PPAs, including through the use of credit guarantees;
• new paragraphs (15)–(18) provide that:
  • PPAs may not be subject to discriminatory or disproportionate procedures or charges, and guarantees of origin may be transferred to the buyer;
  • the ministry and ANRE must ensure there are no unjustified barriers in the hydrogen market (entry, exit, system access, trading, operation);
  • the ministry must describe PPA policies in the updated NECP and integrated national progress reports;
  • ANRE monitors the quantity of renewable energy traded through PPAs and provides the ministry with the relevant data upon request.

The result: a clearer legal framework for PPAs and a stronger normative basis for banks and investors to finance RES projects.

6. Why all this matters for the market

In my view, the combined effect of these amendments is as follows:

• For developers – clearer procedures, shorter timelines and greater predictability, including in acceleration areas and for repowering, where permitting procedures are limited to several months in certain scenarios.
• For investors and lenders – a coherent framework for PPAs, national-importance status for RES projects and an obligation to channel these projects through the fastest available administrative and judicial procedures;
• For municipalities and local communities – the possibility to benefit directly from renewable energy through self-consumption and energy communities, backed by explicit legislative support and an obligation for central authorities to design dedicated support schemes.

7. Conclusion

GEO 59/2025 is not just a narrow legislative tweak. It rewrites how Romania approaches permitting, prioritisation and integration of renewable energy projects, aligning GEO 163/2022 with RED II/RED III requirements and NECP targets.

For those who develop, finance or regulate RES projects, we are entering a period in which speed, documentation quality and a nuanced understanding of these articles will make the difference between projects that move and projects that remain stuck.

If you have a project in the pipeline or want to understand what the new rules (acceleration areas, Art. 166, PPAs, self-consumption, communities) mean for your case, feel free to reach out and we can discuss your situation in detail.