- Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă has announced RON 3 billion allocation for Casa Verde Fotovoltaice program
- It is awarded to residential solar systems of over 3 kW capacity to cover up to 90% of the capital costs
- He also batted for simplifying permitting and installations to reduce bureaucratic hurdles in its expansion
Casa Verde Fotovoltaice or the National Green House Photovoltaic Program of Romania is to get a financial shot in the arm to boost residential solar installations by 150,000 individual households. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said the government can raise RON 3 billion ($663 million) for the project as part of the country’s efforts to fight energy crisis.
Ciucă said the government is looking at expanding the access of energy through solar PV panels under the program to ‘as many people as possible’.
During a cabinet meeting on January 31, 2023, he also stressed on simplifying permitting and installation requirements to ‘avoid excessive bureaucracy’ which doesn’t help the government or the citizens.
Romania introduced the Casa Verde Fotovoltaice project in 2019 to cover up to 90% of capital expenses of solar systems for residential segment with a minimum capacity of 3 kW. In June 2020, the government had approved 12,718 rooftop solar installation applications to award RON 252 million in grants covering 90% of the capex (see Romania RON 252mn For Green PV Home Scheme).
The Casa Verde Photovoltaic is being implemented through the Environmental Fund Administration (AFM).
In January 2023, the government enacted a law to bring down value added tax (VAT) on solar panels and their installation to 5% from 19% to accelerate solar power deployment in the country, expecting it to increase the number of prosumers (see Romania Lowers Value Added Tax On Solar PV Panels).
Romania had a total installed capacity of 1.8 GW end of 2022, according to SolarPower Europe, which expects the country’s to add another 6.1 GW by 2026 in its business-as-usual scenario.
