The executive approved amendments to Law 268/2001, which allow for the valorization of state-owned degraded agricultural lands for renewable energy investments, through simplified and digitized procedures, the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Tuesday.
According to the cited source, by using degraded agricultural lands owned by the state, the premise is created for capitalizing on areas that are not currently used for agricultural purposes, while also contributing to attracting investments and developing rural areas.
The normative act is part of Romania's commitments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and aims to simplify and digitize procedures, as well as reduce authorization deadlines for renewable energy projects located on lands managed by the National Authority for State Property Management, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, the ministry specifies.
„Areas for acceleration will be designated by including degraded lands managed by the National Authority for State Property Administration, Fisheries and Aquaculture for investments in renewable energy sources, and the authorization procedure for such projects will have a maximum duration of 6 months. Through this reform, we contribute to accelerating the transition to green energy and, at the same time, we valorize degraded state lands, opening them up for investments in renewable energy, through simplified and accelerated procedures. At the same time, by fulfilling this commitment undertaken through the PNRR, we take a major step to avoid a penalty of 771 million euros – European funds that can thus be used for the country's development.,” declared the Minister of Agriculture, Tanczos Barna, according to Agerpres.
The main measures adopted include: establishing the regulatory framework for the use of degraded land owned by the state; regulating the public tender concession procedure, including the conditions for execution, deadlines, and contractual clauses, and establishing the duration of concession contracts and the possibility of their extension, as well as measures to simplify and digitize the authorization process, including through tacit approval mechanisms.
„Through these changes, the Government aims to efficiently utilize state-owned land and create a predictable framework for investment.”, the document also states.