Legal guide to Romanian PPAs for renewable energy investors, covering corporate offtake, route to market, imbalance risk, guarantees of origin, bankability and lender concerns.
Romanian PPAs can support financing and valuation, but only when the structure is legally valid, executable, bankable and aligned with licensing, balancing, grid and revenue rules.
Executive answer
Romanian PPAs can support financing and valuation, but only when the structure is legally valid, executable, bankable and aligned with licensing, balancing, grid and revenue rules.
In Romania, Power Purchase Agreements — PPAs — are no longer a theoretical instrument. They are becoming one of the central tools for financing, acquiring, developing and monetising renewable energy projects.
But the Romanian PPA market is still not as mature as in Spain, Germany, the Nordics or the UK. It is evolving fast, and the legal analysis is more nuanced than simply saying: “direct PPAs are now allowed.”
For investors, the real question is not whether a PPA can be signed.
The real question is:
Is the PPA legally valid, bankable, executable in the Romanian electricity market, aligned with licensing rules, and able to support the project’s financing or valuation?
That is the standard that should be applied in 2026.
Investor reading map
| First question | Is the PPA structure enforceable under Romanian energy, corporate and competition rules? |
| Second question | Can a lender rely on the revenue profile and termination mechanics? |
| Third question | Does the PPA fit the project licence, grid status and route-to-market model? |
1. Executive summary
As of 2026, Romania allows directly negotiated bilateral electricity transactions, including renewable PPAs. The legal basis is now much more favourable than under the old Romanian regime, where electricity trading was largely forced through centralised OPCOM platforms.
The current Electricity Law allows wholesale market transactions including directly negotiated bilateral transactions, organised-market transactions and import/export transactions. OUG 163/2022 also expressly defines a renewable energy purchase agreement as a directly negotiated bilateral contract under which a person buys renewable energy directly from a producer.
This means that the Romanian legal framework now supports several PPA structures:
| PPA type | Practical use |
| Physical sleeved PPA | Most bankable for corporate offtake |
| Direct physical PPA | Possible, but licensing and supply rules must be checked |
| Virtual / financial PPA | Useful for price hedging, but derivatives/accounting issues arise |
| CfD + PPA structure | Relevant for CfD-backed projects, subject to CfD restrictions |
| On-site / behind-the-meter PPA | Relevant for C&I projects |
| Private wire / direct line PPA | Legally possible but complex |
| Portfolio PPA | Useful for aggregators, traders and multi-asset producers |
| BESS-shaped PPA | Increasingly relevant for PV + BESS projects |
The main Romanian PPA risks are:
3. The legal basis for PPAs in Romania
3.1 Direct bilateral electricity transactions are allowed
The key legal shift came from the liberalisation of wholesale trading rules. The current version of Law 123/2012 provides that, on the wholesale electricity market, transactions may include directly negotiated bilateral transactions, organised-market transactions and import/export transactions.
This is critical.
Under the older Romanian regime, producers and suppliers were generally required to trade on centralised platforms in a public, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. This created serious problems for long-term bankable PPAs, especially for project finance. Older guides still mention that Romanian generators could not enter into freely negotiated PPAs outside OPCOM, but that is no longer the correct 2026 position.
Today, a directly negotiated PPA is legally possible, but it must still comply with:
3.2 Romanian law expressly recognises renewable energy purchase agreements
OUG 163/2022 defines a contract de achiziție de energie din surse regenerabile as a directly negotiated bilateral contract under which a natural or legal person acquires renewable energy directly from a producer. The definition expressly includes renewable electricity purchase agreements and renewable heating/cooling purchase agreements.
This is important because it aligns Romanian law with RED II / RED III terminology.
RED III also requires Member States to assess regulatory and administrative barriers to long-term renewable energy purchase agreements, remove unjustified obstacles and ensure that such contracts are not subject to discriminatory or disproportionate procedures or charges. It also provides that any associated guarantee of origin may be transferred to the buyer under the renewable PPA.
4. PPA structures used in Romania
4.1 Physical sleeved PPA
This is often the safest structure for corporate offtakers.
In a sleeved PPA:
This structure is usually preferred where the buyer is a final consumer and does not want to become a wholesale market participant.
Real Romanian case: A multinational industrial company wants green electricity from a Romanian PV project. The producer cannot simply “supply” electricity to that final customer without analysing supply licensing. The bankable solution is often a sleeved PPA with a licensed supplier that mirrors the commercial price agreed between generator and corporate buyer.
Key legal points:
4.2 Direct physical PPA
A direct physical PPA is a contract under which the producer sells electricity directly to the buyer.
This is easier where the buyer is a trader, supplier or wholesale market participant. It is more complex where the buyer is a final consumer.
Romanian law defines final customers and supply contracts separately, and the retail market involves suppliers selling electricity to final customers through bilateral contracts at negotiated prices or standard offers.
6. Bankability: what lenders care about
A PPA is bankable only if it reduces risk in a way lenders can rely on.
A bankable Romanian PPA should address at least the following:
6.1 Term
For project finance, lenders typically prefer a long-term PPA — often 7, 10, 12 or 15 years, depending on debt tenor.
But in Romania, offtakers may resist long tenors because of market volatility, regulatory uncertainty and balance-sheet treatment.
Real case: Developer wants a 10-year PPA to support financing. Corporate buyer wants 3 years with extension option. This may be commercially attractive, but it will not fully support long-term debt.
6.2 Price
Common pricing structures include:
The most bankable structure is usually a fixed or floor-based price with clear indexation.
Real case: A PPA priced only at “DAM minus X%” may not be bankable if it does not create downside protection. It gives the buyer a discount, but it does not give the lender stable revenue.
6.3 Volume
Romanian renewable PPAs often fail because volume risk is poorly drafted.
The contract must specify whether it is:
| Volume type | Meaning |
| Pay-as-produced | Buyer takes actual production |
| Pay-as-nominated | Seller delivers nominated quantities |
| Fixed volume | Seller must deliver agreed volume |
| Baseload | Seller delivers constant profile |
| Shaped profile | Seller delivers agreed profile |
| Take-or-pay | Buyer pays for agreed volume |
| Take-and-pay | Buyer pays only delivered energy |
7. Licensing and regulatory roles
7.1 Producer
A renewable producer needs the correct ANRE authorisation/licence path for construction and operation. For a PPA, the producer must have the right to generate and sell electricity.
7.2 Supplier
A supplier licence becomes relevant where electricity is sold to final customers. This is why corporate PPAs with industrial consumers often use a licensed supplier as sleeving party.
7.3 Trader
A trader may buy from the producer and resell on wholesale markets or to suppliers. A trader structure can be useful where the offtaker does not want supply obligations.
7.4 Aggregator
Aggregation is not the same as trading. Law 123/2012 defines aggregation as combining the loads of multiple customers or electricity produced from multiple sources for sale, purchase or bidding on any electricity market.
If a party pools several PV/BESS assets and sells a shaped or flexible product, the legal role must be reviewed. It may be trading, aggregation, balancing service provision, or a combination.
7.5 EU entities and ANRE confirmation
Foreign companies established in another EU Member State can obtain ANRE confirmation of their right to participate in Romanian electricity and gas markets under ANRE Order 14/2024. OPCOM also recognises participation by EU legal entities whose rights to participate on Romanian power exchange markets have been confirmed by ANRE.
Real case: A Czech or German trader wants to offtake electricity from a Romanian PV project without incorporating a Romanian SPV. This may be possible through ANRE confirmation, but it must be checked before signing the PPA and before market registration.
9. Key contractual clauses in Romanian renewable PPAs
9.1 Conditions precedent
Typical CPs include:
9.2 COD and delay
The PPA should define:
9.3 Volume and delivery profile
The contract must specify the product:
9.4 Price
The price clause should include:
9.5 Negative prices
Romania has seen increasing solar penetration and more exposure to negative or low-price hours. The PPA should state what happens if the reference market price is negative.
Options include:
This is particularly relevant for CfD and merchant-linked PPAs.
9.6 Curtailment
The PPA should distinguish:
9.7 Balancing and nominations
The contract should state:
9.8 Guarantees of origin
The GO clause should cover:
9.9 Credit support
Typical credit support includes:
14. PPA risk matrix
| Risk | Impact | Buyer / investor protection |
| Wrong licensing structure | Contract may be illegal or unenforceable in practice | Licensing memo before signing |
| Final customer supply issue | Supplier licence may be required | Sleeved PPA |
| COD delay | PPA may terminate | Realistic CPs and long-stop |
| Grid curtailment | Revenue loss | Curtailment clause |
| Imbalance cost | Margin erosion | PRE/BRP allocation |
| Solar profile risk | Lower realised value | Product definition and shaping |
| Negative prices | Revenue volatility | Negative price clause |
| Missing GOs | ESG claim risk | GO transfer/cancellation clause |
| Weak offtaker | Financing risk | Credit support |
| CfD conflict | State aid breach | CfD/PPA consistency review |
| Foreign buyer market access | Delivery/settlement risk | ANRE confirmation / OPCOM registration |
| BESS not integrated | Product delivery risk | Storage permitting/licensing DD |
| Change in law | Economics change | Pass-through / renegotiation |
| Assignment restriction | Financing issue | Lender direct agreement |
15. Practical due diligence checklist
A PPA review should be short enough to drive a transaction decision and detailed enough to support financing.
| Contract structure | physical or virtual route, parties, assignment and change-of-control rules. |
| Revenue quality | price formula, indexation, volume profile, curtailment and termination economics. |
| Regulatory fit | licensing, balancing responsibility, REMIT, competition law and CfD/state-aid interaction. |
| Credit support | guarantees, collateral, payment security and default remedies. |
| Financing impact | lender step-in, direct agreement, termination compensation and bankability assumptions. |
16. Drafting recommendations
A Romanian PPA should be drafted with the following principle:
Do not describe the commercial intention only. Describe the energy product, regulatory role, delivery mechanics and risk allocation.
The PPA should include:
17. Investor conclusion
Romania is now a real PPA market, but not yet a simple one.
The law allows directly negotiated bilateral electricity transactions. Renewable PPAs are expressly recognised. EU law pushes Romania to remove unjustified barriers and support long-term renewable offtake. The Romanian pipeline is large, CfDs are creating a more sophisticated revenue environment, and corporate buyers are increasingly interested in green electricity.
But a Romanian PPA is bankable only if it works across four layers:
The biggest mistake is to treat a PPA as a simple sale contract.
In Romania, a PPA is not just a contract for electricity. It is the legal bridge between a renewable asset, the grid, the market, the offtaker and the financing structure.
The best PPAs are not the longest ones or the ones with the highest headline price.
The best PPAs are the ones that can actually be performed, financed, settled and defended under Romanian energy law.
Related reading and services
This article is part of the Romanian energy law content cluster. For the commercial route into a mandate, start with Energy Law in Romania and the Renewable Energy Legal Services page.
How Grigorescu Partners can help
Grigorescu Partners assists investors, developers, lenders and project owners with Romanian renewable energy projects, including legal due diligence, grid connection review, ANRE licensing, PPAs, BESS structuring, EPC and O&M contracts, project acquisitions and transaction execution.
If you are assessing a Romanian renewable energy project, the useful question is not only whether the project has documents. The useful question is whether those documents work together as a buildable, financeable and monetisable energy asset.