Turkey has emerged as a relatively new, strong actor in Romania’s renewable energy sector through recent investments and joint ventures. Turkey’s interest in Romania's energy field is driven not only by economic interests and soft power diplomacy but also by the strong demand for additional energy sources.
Turkey's growing investments in Romania reflect its broader geopolitical interests. Since 2023, Turkish investors have entered the market through acquisitions, joint ventures and new solar projects and began carrying out projects in the same year.
This also reflects the recent strong growth of Romania’s renewables sector. Romania closed 2024 with 5 GW of installed photovoltaic capacity, a significant increase compared to the 3.2 GW recorded in 2023. Undoubtedly, ongoing global and regional upheavals, particularly the Russo-Ukraine war and climate change, pushed Romania to focus more on its national green strategy.
As such, despite some economic and technical difficulties, in 2024 alone, the country added approximately 1.7 GW of solar capacity, bringing the total installed solar power capacity to nearly 5 GW, with the aim to double the volume in 2025. This expansion aligns with Romania’s updated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), which aims to elevate renewable energy's share to 38.3% by 2030 and 44% by 2035, with an increase up to 86.1% by 2050.
Recently, the Romanian authorities have actively encouraged foreign direct investment (FDI) in renewable energy, and worked to create a favourable environment for foreign companies.
Among the investors from Turkey, in August 2024, local media reported that energy company Entek had entered the local solar energy market by acquiring Eco Sun Niclești and Euromec-Ciocanari. Entek is a subsidiary of Turkish energy company Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri A.Ş. (Tüpras), which owns 99.23% of Entek and is Turkey’s largest industrial company and the seventh largest refinery in Europe, producing various types of fuels.
Since entering the local market, Entek has acquired two Romanian companies that are in the process of obtaining the rights to develop a 214.26 MWdc photovoltaic project at a price of €32.9mn through its investment arm Enspire Enerji for Eco Sun Niculești. This project is of particular importance for Romania in terms of generation of additional green energy and is estimated to be inaugurated in the second half of 2025.
The contracts signed between Turkish companies and the Romanian government in 2023 and 2024 paved the way for surge of investments in 2025, including investments from China, with Chinese companies collaborating with partners from other countries such as Turkey. Although in 2024, Romania managed to attract additional foreign green energy companies from Hungary, Greece and Denmark, it was Turkey and China that appeared to be front runners in terms of investments in the solar power field.
Romania's photovoltaic panels imported from China make up 20% of the total, and inverters account for 6%. Indeed, as in the case of other Southeast European countries, Chinese investments in Romania have primarily focused on infrastructure and energy projects, including high-speed railways, renewable energy projects, collaborations on nuclear power plants at Cernavodă, and developing conventional power plants at Tarnița and Turceni-Rovinari.
In recent years China has been partnering with other countries to establish joint ventures for infrastructure projects in European countries, thus attempting to avoid potential criticism from the European Union (EU) regarding the “Chinese debt trap”. In this regard, in November 2024, Chinese Shanghai Electric Power (SEP), in partnership with Turkey-based YEO Technology, earmarked €65.8mn for two solar power plants in Romania of 129 MW in total through its subsidiary Defic Globe. The same company has completed the construction of an 18 MWp capacity project in Caracal, marking the first large-scale Turkish green energy investment in Romania under the Defic Globe brand.
While Turkish companies have aggressively expanded in Romania’s solar market in the last few years, Chinese investments have been more cautious. China has invested over $100bn in overseas clean energy projects since 2023, but much of this investment has been directed toward markets where Chinese firms seek to bypass trade barriers, such as Germany, Hungary, and Turkey. The earlier data indicates that as of 2023, 18,135 Turkish companies were operating in Romania, with a total subscribed capital value of over €717mn. However, in 2024, Turkish direct investments reached $7.5bn marking a new milestone in Romania’s green energy sector.
The ongoing energy deficit in Europe and regional security threats make Romania an attractive market for renewable energy investors, while emboldening the country to boost investments in photovoltaic technology and hybrid solar-storage projects. In 2025, foreign investors, including Turkish companies, are expected to bring online between 1,200 MW to 1,500 MW of renewable electricity facilities, aiming to double the country's battery storage capacity to between 400 MWh and 500 MWh, enhancing grid stability and energy security.
Fuad Shahbazov is a policy analyst covering regional security issues in the South Caucasus. He was a research fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies and previously a senior analyst at the Center for Strategic Communications, both in Azerbaijan. He was also a visiting scholar at the Daniel Morgan School of National Security in Washington, DC. He tweets at @fuadshahbazov
Mumbai-based solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company expects a 50-60% year-on-year growth over the next three years driven primarily by the increasing demand for solar power in the commercial and industrial segment, Anuraag Gupta, director of Ohms Energy told bno intellinews.
“A big focus area for us is the commercial and industrial segment. With India’s manufacturing sector gaining momentum, we expect a surge in solar adoption. More companies are setting up manufacturing units and solar is becoming an essential component of captive power generation. The availability of affordable financing is further boosting the transition,” Gupta said.
The company has many projects in the pipeline, under different models. Ohms is working with a steel casting company, a textile company, an engineering company for their solar needs and a solar park. Its total pipeline of projects is around INR100mn ($1.15mn).
The Mumbai-based firm recently commissioned a 400 kWp rooftop solar PV project for SG Heavy Engineering Ltd. in Wada, Maharashtra.
Ohms Energy is also very active in the residential space. It has executed solar EPC projects for large housing societies which have more than four or five buildings in their complex with huge common amenity areas. For the company the residential segment is growing faster due to the government of India’s subsidy programme for solar adoption.
The solar power sector has seen massive growth in India in recent years. The country has achieved a historic milestone by surpassing 100 GW of installed solar power capacity, the government said on February 8.
The country’s solar power sector has in turn clocked a 3,450 % jump in capacity over the past decade, rising from 2.82 GW in 2014 to 100 GW in 2025. As of January 31, India’s total solar capacity installed stands at 100.33 GW, with 84.10 GW under implementation and an additional 47.49 GW under tendering, according to government data.
Solar energy accounts for 47% of the total installed renewable energy capacity. In 2024, a record-breaking 24.5 GW of solar capacity was added reflecting a more than two-fold increase in solar installations compared to the year before. The year 2024 also saw the installation of 18.5 GW of utility-scale solar capacity, a nearly 2.8 times increase compared to 2023, according to the Indian government. Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are some of the states that are driving this growth.
Rooftop solar policy boost
The rooftop solar sector in India witnessed remarkable growth in 2024, with 4.59 GW of new capacity installed, reflecting a 53% increase compared to 2023. An important factor of this growth has been the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which was launched in February last year and is now nearing 900,000 rooftop solar installations, the government said. The Indian government expects that by March 2025, installations under the scheme are expected to exceed 1mn, with the numbers doubling to 2mn by October 2025 and reaching 4mn by March 2026. The main aim of this initiative is to provide free electricity to households by facilitating the installation of rooftop solar panels.
The scheme as it stands now includes subsidies of up to 40%, which makes renewable energy more cost-efficient and accessible. As a result, INR43bn has been disbursed as Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to over 554,000 residential consumers, with an average subsidy of INR77,800 per household. Additionally, an estimated 45% of the beneficiaries are now receiving zero electricity bills, depending on their solar power generation and consumption patterns, the government said in early February 2025. Also, by promoting the widespread use of solar power, the scheme is expected to save the government an estimated INR750bn annually in electricity costs. The subsidy provided under the scheme varies based on the household's average monthly electricity consumption and the corresponding suitable rooftop solar plant capacity.
Commenting on the scheme, Gupta said, “The scheme is currently set to run until March 2026, but I believe it will be extended as it is a very popular initiative. The annual subsidy cost is manageable for the government.”
Government policy support robust
According to Gupta, the government has done more than it could to promote the adoption of solar energy. “Now it is up to the industry, especially EPC companies to upgrade their quality of services and installation methodologies,” he said.
Cell manufacturing is the fastest growing segment in the value chain of the solar industry. Gupta said that the government has rightly supported the industry with subsidies, production linked incentive (PLI) and adherence to domestic content requirement (DCR) regulations for subsidy projects. “The PM Kusum Scheme has played the biggest role in the proliferation of cell manufacturing in India,” he said.
“The industry must adopt newer technology and also have a longer-term view on the sector. We have to reach a point where the differential in the prices of Indian cells and Chinese cells is minimal, yet the manufacturers are still able to make decent profits. For this, the industry has to look at scale and technology,” Gupta added.
Growth outlook for the renewable sector
India has set an ambitious goal of 500 GW production from non-fossil sources by 2030. As of end-January 2025, India’s total non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity has reached 217.62 GW, according to government data. Gupta believes that the 500 GW target is achievable. “It is certainly possible. The current goal is to add 60 GW to 70 GW annually. Over the next five years, even if we don’t reach 500 GW, we should at least achieve anywhere between 400 GW to 500 GW,” he said.
Gupta is extremely bullish about power demand in India driven by three main sectors: transportation, data centres and infrastructure. This demand will give a big boost to renewable energy.
“Currently, 95–98% of transportation relies on petrol and diesel. Over the next five to six years, electrification will dramatically increase power demand as vehicles shift to electric power. Additionally, India’s data localisation mandates mean that more data centres must be built domestically, further driving power consumption. Finally, as India upgrades its infrastructure, the sector will require lots of power. To meet this growing demand, we cannot rely solely on coal and gas. A diversified power generation approach is essential, with renewable energy playing a major role,” he concluded.
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