Indeed, the year 2014 has not bring us, so far, good news for the players interested in the renewable energy market in Romania, irrespective of the position they approach the domain (investors, developers, EPC, traders etc.). The first semester gave us the confirmation of certain amendments to the reference regulatory framework announced since last year, but we did not exaggerate if we say that the “surprise” amendments – as often happens to us – were present. It would be enough to recall the reduction of the energy quota that benefits of the support scheme reduced to 11.5%. It seems that the year will end under the same auspices: form the information available on ANRE site is inferred that the highly anticipated feed-in tariff – whose approval is postponed for the last four years – will be finally approved, but only for power plants with installed capacity of up to 500 kv, although LawNo. 220/2008–legislative act on regulating the renewables field in Romanian - ruled since the time of its approval that the fixed tariff will be applied to power plants with installed powers up to 1MW (or 2MW, in case of certain technologies).

Therefore, we can talk about a new “trick” made to those who have expectations in this respect for the plants above 500 kv power, many of them being even investors who have sized the power plants referring to the legislative act in force, pending the determination of the tariff values and its calculation methodology.In conclusion, we can consider that 2014 is a turning year in the renewable field and I may assert that, from now on, we may assist to a decline of investments in this sector, the newly approved guiding marks are rather intended to discourage the interest in the development of new energy capacities to exploit the potential of energy renewables resources in Romania. However, do not understand that the adopted legislative measures are primarily intended to deter any investment in this domain. The declaim occurs in a context where the electricity consumption decreased and continues to decrease in a significant manner, therefore, an economic recovery might bring in forefront – the interest for the production of electricity, inclusive from renewable sources of energy.

What are the directions for the developments of projects in the coming period preferred by investors interested in the energy field, and who benefit from specialized consulting by Cumpanasu & Dejescu?

As I was saying, the investment moves in the renewable field are more and more cautious. It is possible, however, that the approval of the regulated tariff, be it only for power stations with installed power of up to 500 kV, shall lead to a revival of interest for the development of new power stations using renewable energy sources. It is very possible to witness an increased interest for developing small sized PV power stations located on the roofs of buildings and homes, having the priority purpose of self-supplying, and an increased interest for technologies less approached in our country so far (biomass, biogas, etc.).

Referring to the type of requests for assistance addressed to our office over the past few months and observing the renewables field, we ascertain that most of these target the sale-purchase of energy already realised and connected to SEN, with preference for the project accredited until the date of December 31^st, 2013. We are also asked to provide our clients legal assistance in managing the day-by-dayexploitation activity of power plants, including the relation of energy producers with the network and transport operators, as well as with the specific centralised markets operator and national regulator. 

Except for the energy field, what are the most dynamic practice areas in this year for which Cumpanasu & Dejescu provides consultancy and assists in important projects and transactions?

Our office constantly provides assistance in transactions and projects related to the most diverse sectors. Recently, we have noted an increased interest for real estate projects (revivals of older projects, abandoned when the economic crisis set in, overtaking of distressed assets, even development of new projects in the residential and office building areas). Also, the purchase of agricultural land is continuous – the clients we assisted have completed in the recent months acquisitions amounting to over 3,500 ha.

With regard to practice areas, we note a significant increase, compared to the previous years, of the important mandates received for representing clients in judicial procedures. This is the result of paying a closer attention to the litigations department during the recent period, and we are happy to note that the results have not failed to appear.

In this autumn, Cumpanasu & Dejescu marks a key moment in this market. What are the noteworthy guiding marks of the 3 years since founding the company?

We are proud that, at the end of this first reference interval in the existence of our office, we have attained our main objective: at Cumpanasu & Dejescu we are a team in the true meaning of the word. These three years have given us the opportunity to create the catalysis of characters, personalities and competences of our professionals who now represent the core of our office. This gives us confidence in our strengths and in what we can achieve in the future. Our guiding landmark in everything we do is quality. Although we have started with a team of seven persons, today we are four times more; we know that what gives us strength is not the number of our people, but their quality.

On the other hand, but in close connection with the success named “team”, I am bound to note our professional achievements: during these three years we were confidently engaged by important clients, some of them landmarks in their field of activity; our team was requested to provide specialized assistance to projects and transactions, but also to representative litigations; in certain fields – energy, real estate, M&A, litigations – we are a viable alternative to any other law practice on the local market and we propose to become the first option in the near future.