Romanian president Nicușor Dan has asked Parliament to reconsider legislation allowing the construction and completion of hydropower projects in protected areas, reopening a dispute over the balance between energy security and environmental protection.
Dan submitted the request to Parliament on August 12, according to Economedia, after the Constitutional Court rejected his objections to the legislation in June.
“Beyond the limits of constitutional control, we consider that the current assessment of the necessity, opportunity and efficiency of the adopted legislative solutions is required, including from the perspective of developments that have occurred since the initiation of the legislative proposal,” Dan said in the note accompanying his request.
The president had previously argued that the legislation could allow protected-area boundaries to be reduced and environmental assessments to be waived for entire categories of energy projects, including projects declared by the Supreme Council for National Defence to be of national security interest.
The legislation, initiated by Social Democratic Party (PSD) senator Daniel Zamfir, is designed to facilitate the completion of unfinished hydropower projects.
State-controlled Hidroelectrica plans to resume and complete several projects originally started during the communist period. The Energy Ministry has proposed completing around 10 unfinished hydropower plants with a combined capacity of about 700 MW, arguing that substantial investments have already been made in the projects.
The projects have remained unfinished for years, with some facing environmental and legal obstacles. Their completion has gained renewed attention amid pressure to increase domestic electricity generation and strengthen Romania’s energy security.
Environmental organisations, including Declic and other civic groups, oppose the resumption of some of the projects because of their potential impact on river ecosystems. They argue that upgrading existing hydropower capacity could deliver energy gains with lower environmental costs than completing older projects in protected areas.
The dispute comes as Romania faces pressure on its electricity system following the shutdown of both reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant because of exceptionally low Danube water levels. The government has also sought to maintain additional coal-fired generation capacity beyond existing decarbonisation deadlines.
Parliament will now have to reconsider the legislation following the president’s request, despite the Constitutional Court having already ruled on its constitutionality.
(Photo: Hidroelectrica)
iulian@romania-insider.com
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