Romanian energy permitting in 2027–2028: which approvals are needed, and in what order?

The greatest permitting risk is not always failing to obtain a permit; it may be obtaining it too late to preserve rights already secured. For a solar, wind or BESS project, planning, land rights, environmental assessment, ATR, grid connection agreement, building permit and ANRE establishment authorisation form an interdependent schedule. Since 25 August 2026, planning and construction procedures must also be analysed under the Code enacted by Law No. 169/2026, including its transitional provisions for older project documents.

Is there one universal permitting sequence?

There is no single checklist applying regardless of site, capacity, technology and connection route. A wind farm near protected areas may face a different environmental assessment from a BESS on an industrial site; ground-mounted PV on agricultural land requires its own land-status analysis. Law No. 292/2018 governs environmental impact assessment and Emergency Ordinance No. 57/2007 applies to protected natural areas when relevant.

In practice the sequence should come from a permitting dependencies map showing prerequisite documents, competent authority, filing, statutory period, realistic processing time, challenge options and the date by which each document is needed for the following step. A table listing approvals without their dependencies does not protect the project.

What does the new Planning and Construction Code change?

Law No. 169/2026, published in Official Gazette No. 661 of 10 August 2026, entered into force on 25 August 2026. It replaced the general framework of Law No. 50/1991 and Law No. 350/2001, subject to transitional provisions. The Code restructures planning and construction documentation, provides different types of urbanism certificates for particular purposes and introduces more integrated and digital procedures.

For a new energy development, the urbanism certificate must match the intended purpose and the full investment scope: plant, substation, cables, road access, construction facilities and any BESS. Do not assume a certificate for the generation plant automatically covers every connection work on a different site. Check whether separate filings or construction permits are required.

What happens to an urbanism certificate issued before 25 August 2026?

Article 582(4) of the Code preserves the validity of urbanism certificates issued before commencement and allows the permitting process to continue based on approvals required by those certificates under the relevant regime. Article 582(1) separately protects planning-document preparation, endorsement and approval procedures initiated earlier. These provisions do not create a uniform grace period for every type of pending administrative file.

For historical projects, reconstruct dates for initiation of a PUZ/PUD, urbanism certificate issuance, building-permit application, competent authority and approvals received. An application made after 25 August 2026 may need current forms even where the underlying certificate was issued under earlier law. Do not abandon or reapply for a valid certificate without first testing the transitional provision.

Which ANRE deadlines can put grid rights at risk?

ANRE Order No. 15/2026 linked the building permit and ANRE establishment authorisation to preservation of ATR and connection agreement for qualifying developments. For agreements ongoing on 25 May 2026 with approved export capacity exceeding 1 MW, Article V(3) introduces a 12-month transitional establishment-authorisation deadline: 25 May 2027. Extension availability is not identical across all historical contract cohorts.

For later agreements, Article 36 of the Connection Regulation may impose limits of 12 months from the agreement and 18 months from ATR issuance, together with narrowly conditioned relief. The permitting roadmap must distinguish ATR date, agreement date and the date on which the operator expects to contract certain works. A marketing statement of “RTB Q4 2027” is not an adequate substitute.

How should land and linear infrastructure be checked?

Ownership or superficies over the generation site does not necessarily provide lawful road access, rights over a connection substation or the cable route. Review cadastral parcels, encumbrances, agricultural classification, owner consents, easements, rights of way and planning or environmental restrictions. Land Law No. 18/1991, the new Code and special land rules may interact; do not reduce the review to a single area threshold.

For a large site or long cable route, a land-and-route matrix is more useful than a lengthy unsorted memo: parcel, right, counterparty, duration, restrictions, missing evidence and consequence. A sale or bank financing can fail because of a few hundred metres of missing cable rights even where the main plant's land title is impeccable.

What does a management-ready Permitting Roadmap contain?

The deliverable should be a dependency chart with owner, document, authority, earliest filing date, statutory period, realistic target, filing evidence and red-flag consequence. Each permit gets a verifiable status: granted, complete filing acknowledged, under supplementation, challenged or not started. A date verbally suggested by a municipality should never appear as a confirmed deadline.

Over the next 90 days, prioritise steps that can trigger automatic loss of the ATR, block the connection agreement or expose guarantees. Before M&A or financing, convert remaining permits into conditions precedent, long-stop dates and actionable seller or contractor obligations. This is what makes a permitting roadmap commercially useful.

Hypothetical example: the investment decision

*Hypothetical example, not a reference to an actual project.*

A hypothetical hybrid PV+BESS project holds an urbanism certificate issued in June 2026, an ATR issued in March 2026 and a connection agreement signed in September 2026. The older certificate may remain valid under Article 582(4), but the post-25 May agreement must be assessed under the new ANRE deadlines. Continuing an urbanism process under a transitional rule does not automatically extend the establishment-authorisation deadline. These schedules must be mapped separately.

Developer Action Checklist: what should be checked in the next 30–90 days?

1. Identify all physical facilities, sites and routes included in the development. 2. Classify every urbanism certificate and PUZ/PUD under the applicable transitional start-date test. 3. Check environmental assessment, Natura 2000 and land classification for the actual site. 4. Align building and ANRE authorisation dates with Article 36 and the 2026 transitional rules. 5. Turn the permit list into a dependency diagram with critical dates and evidence.

Conclusion and next steps

A useful permitting roadmap answers not only “which permits are missing?” but which missing permit, if not secured in time, could jeopardise the entire project. In 2027–2028, coordinating the new Planning Code with ANRE deadlines is a core development capability.

Request a project-specific assessment. Grigorescu & Partners can review the key documents and prepare a focused risk, deadline and action report. Discuss a mandate or Email us the project details.

Primary sources and verification date

*Analysis updated on 12 October 2026.*

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Editorial note: For general information, not project-specific legal advice. Applicable rules depend on project history, documents, contracts and subsequent amendments.