This report assesses the current state and potential of geothermal energy in Romania. It identifies structural barriers to development, and proposes a set of targeted policy measures to unlock the geothermal potential.
Romania holds large untapped geothermal resources, particularly in the western region. Yet the sector remains underdeveloped, still largely limited to district heating, spas, and a handful of recent projects aimed at heating public buildings in well-known geothermal areas. Unlocking this potential could support the decarbonisation of the heating sector, strengthen energy security, diversify the energy mix, and, in the longer term, contribute to low-carbon electricity generation.
Author’s Insights:
“Our report identifies a set of structural barriers that hold back geothermal development in Romania, from high exploration risk and limited access to finance, to regulatory frameworks that were not designed with geothermal in mind. Stakeholder consultations confirmed that administrative fragmentation, unclear licensing regimes and inadequate incentive structures remain the main obstacles for developers.
To unlock Romania’s geothermal potential, we propose a targeted set of policy measures: streamlining permitting, improving access to subsurface data, aligning taxation with energy output rather than extracted volumes, and assessing the opportunity for dedicated instruments such as drilling insurance. We also recommend integrating next-generation geothermal technologies into the legal framework, leveraging existing oil and gas assets, and building the workforce capabilities the sector will need.”
– Alexandru Ciocan
For or further details and media inquiries, please contact Alexandru Ciocan: alexandru.ciocan@epg-thinktank.org
This report has been prepared by Energy Policy Group (EPG) with collaboration and funding from Clean Air Task Force (CATF). This report received no financial support from the government, industry and private sector and it was prepared based on publicly available data, information, articles and scientific publications.