World Energy Romania: Resilience and the World Energy Trilemma

World Energy Council Romania convened energy experts in Bucharest for the Romanian Energy Resilience through the challenges of the Energy Trilemma conference.

The Council's 2019 World Energy Trilemma and Dynamic Resilience studies were discussed highlighting the connection between Romania's strategy, existing infrastructure and energy markets. Also discussed, was Romania's energy policies in relationship to the Council's latest reports.

Following a keynote presentation, various experts presented their organisation's energy programmes and the tools utilised to address market and industry challenges. A debate followed, moderated by the Romanian National World Energy Committee, on the the challenges Romania is facing regarding energy systems resilience.

The energy sector was represented by the president of the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN), the former FORATOM president, managers of the Romanian TSO and DSO, the head of the Investment Monitoring and Analysis Service of The Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) and a professor of Electric Engineering department from Valahia University of Targoviste.

Conference highlights:

• The year 2050 is fast approaching and the Romanian energy system must be prepared. The time is short; it is no longer possible to wait since the conditions for the transition to clean, safe and accessible energy are difficult and challenging. Lack of action will deliver increased cost. All energy issues must be analyzed in a globally competitive context with the interests of divergent parties considered. National challenges regarding political instability, the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, the effects of climate change and cyber security must also be considered. Geospatial analysis is a good tool to better understand and manage the challenges. 
• The development of renewable sources must be accompanied by the development of storage sources. Investments have been made in renewable sources, but both wind and sun can be unpredictable (wind sources have a capacity factor of 23%), which requires predictable sources to mitigate risk.
• The surrounding SEE countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia) have addressed the issues, but Romania does not have a viable solution for electricity import from the SEE neighbouring countries. The increase  of the interconnection between SEE and non SEE of the TSO must be e priority for the region.
• Nuclear power is a pillar of the transition and increased resilience can be achieved by strengthening the infrastructure and the means of rapid recovery after system failure. Nuclear sources currently cover over 22% of the electricity needs in Europe and the security of nuclear sources has increased greatly due to efficient measures in operation and regulations in the field. Also, the nuclear waste disposal has remained an important problem but there are intense developements in the studies of nuclear recycling.