Romania’s transition to green energy represents a 20-billion-euro financing opportunity for banks: McKinsey & Company

The consulting company McKinsey & Company Romania estimates the potential of the green energy market at over 30 billion euros by 2040. Currently, the Romanian state is committed to providing subsidies worth over 300 million euros through the Casa Verde program, exploring but additional financing options of up to 250 million euros through the European program RePowerEU.

Of the remaining amount of up to 30 billion euros, it is estimated that around 20 billion euros could be covered by banks through loan offers, which can accelerate the transition to green energy products.

The costs for the installation with photovoltaic panels are on average 1,200-1,400 euros / kW and can reach up to 15,000 euros for large installations, a significant financial commitment for many Romanian consumers, in a context of financial instability and lack of predictability that it helps them to be able to estimate and justify this investment. It can, however, be extremely profitable, given the fact that most of those who use this solution recover their investment in approximately 3 years (assuming the support of Casa Verde) and 6 years (without the support of Casa Verde). The expenses of Romanians who want complete green energy solutions, however, do not stop there – adding a heat pump to replace gas heating, as well as a battery to store excess electricity production, can bring an additional cost of over 20,000 euros.

Opportunity for banks and technical installation companies

Banks in Romania could make up for the financing deficit, meeting customers with special credit offers, while at the same time managing to achieve their own sustainability and growth objectives. The current offers of loans dedicated to consumers to finance green energy solutions are limited to consumer loans with a financing duration of up to 5 years and high interest rates compared to other types of loans, and too little personalized for the needs they cover.

In addition, now there are few successful examples of players that mediate the consumer process, from choosing the right solutions, to financing and installing them. An integrated player should offer specialized consultancy in green electricity systems, evaluate the energy potential of the home (including a profitability calculation), ensure the installation of technical equipment, mediate the relationship of the household consumer with a credit institution and facilitate the process bureaucratic process of obtaining prosumer status.

To fill this funding gap, banks could come to market with new flexible financing solutions that allow customers to use the savings from green energy to repay their loan. In addition, banks’ partnerships with energy providers can simplify the process that consumers have to go through to connect to the electricity grid and thus become prosumers, as some of them offer support in mediating the process with distribution companies.

Context

To achieve the EU’s goal of becoming energy neutral by 2050, all member states, including Romania, will have to abandon any energy systems that emit greenhouse gases and adopt environmentally friendly solutions.

In the Integrated National Plan in the field of Energy and Climate Change, Romania included measures to reduce carbon emissions, increase energy efficiency and increase the share of renewable energy sources in total energy production. These include:

o Zero-carbon electricity: Consumers should be encouraged to switch from polluting energy sources such as coal and natural gas to renewable sources such as solar or wind power

o Electrification of the energy system: Transition to electricity as the main source of energy, including as a method of heating homes

o Streamlining energy efficiency benefits: Reducing energy consumption by switching to more energy efficient equipment and appliances, as well as improving the energy efficiency of buildings

To encourage the transition to green energy, the Romanian Government has introduced a series of subsidies that allow consumers to adopt more ecological measures and solutions: VAT of 5 percent instead of 19 percent for heat pumps and photovoltaic panels, as well as a subsidy of up to 4,000 euros for the installation of photovoltaic panels.

However, the budget for 2023 foresees only slightly more than 80,000 such subsidies offered. To these could be added an additional budget of around 250 million euros through the RePowerEU program, which would provide subsidies of up to 5,000 euros – but its confirmation is still awaited. Fiscal measures (such as reductions in local taxes and duties) could also be considered to further stimulate the adoption of such energy solutions.

In a growing market, where approximately 45 percent of Romanians say they are interested in installing solar panels in the next year (according to a study by an electricity company, carried out at the end of 2022), the Government’s financing plans reach the current capacity of installation for the next year, but remain insufficient to meet consumer demands.