The State Domains Agency (ADS) has identified about 8,500 hectares of unproductive agricultural land, plus another 76,000 hectares of poorly productive agricultural land that could be used for green energy production under the REPowerEU Plan, according to a press release from the institution, cited by AGERPRES.
“ADS has completed the scrip inventory of state-owned land that could be used for the establishment of wind or photovoltaic power plants. As part of the REPowerEU plan, these areas will be accurately identified and soil surveys will be carried out on the quality of the land so that only those that are not suitable for agricultural production will be used for other activities, such as green energy production. Thus, about 8,500 ha of unproductive agricultural land have been identified, of which the most important areas are in Constanța county, 2,738 ha, in Brăila county, 1,550 ha, and in Argeș county, 1,222 ha. Added to this is about 76,000 ha of class IV and V agricultural land, i.e. the poorest in terms of agricultural soundness. The most important areas are located in Călărași county, 26.625 ha, Sibiu county, 9.377 ha, and Dolj county, 4.906 ha”, the ADS press release said.
According to the law, state-owned land administered by ADS can currently only be used for agricultural activities, but the REPowerEU Plan aims to amend the legislation to allow those areas of Romanian state-owned agricultural land administered by ADS that are classified as unproductive/degraded to be classified as “RES (renewable energy sources) acceleration zones” so that they can be used for renewable energy production.
Thus, the areas of agricultural land identified as unproductive or of quality IV and V, referred to as “RES acceleration areas”, will be entered in the Single Inventory Register of Unproductive Land. The establishment of this Register is the first step foreseen by the REPowerEU Plan for renewable energy investment projects and is the responsibility of ADS.
“The soil studies are extremely important, because they will effectively show which areas can be included in the Register. Without neglecting its other responsibilities, ADS is focusing on the preparatory activities for the REPowerEU Plan because there will be limited time for implementation after its approval by the European Commission. And we don’t want to lose the money for these projects,” said ADS Director General Florin Nicolae.