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.
„Se desemnează zone de accelerare prin includerea terenurilor degradate administrate de Autoritatea Națională de Administrate a Domeniilor Statului, Pescuit și Acvacultură pentru investițiile în surse regenerabile de energie, iar procedura de autorizare pentru astfel de proiecte va avea o durată maximă de 6 luni. Prin această reformă contribuim la accelerarea tranziției către o energie verde și, totodată, valorificăm terenurile degradate ale statului, deschizându-le către investiții în energie regenerabilă, prin proceduri simplificate și accelerate. Totodată, prin îndeplinirea acestui angajament asumat prin PNRR, facem un pas major pentru a evita o penalizare de 771 de milioane de euro – fonduri europene care vor putea fi astfel utilizate pentru dezvoltarea țării,” 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.
