Romania’s coal industry is no longer a dominant national energy system. It has contracted into a smaller collection of lignite mines, power stations and hard coal operations concentrated in a few regions. Coal still supplied about 14% of Romanian electricity generation in 2025, but its position is increasingly temporary.
The country has committed to end coal-fired electricity production by 2032. However, the transition has become more complicated because several projects intended to replace coal capacity have been delayed. Romania has consequently extended the operating period of selected coal units to avoid removing dependable generation before new gas, renewable and storage capacity enters service.
This makes Romania’s coal story different from that of a country attempting to preserve a large mining industry. The central issue is how to manage the final operating years of a shrinking sector without creating electricity shortages or leaving coal-dependent regions without a viable economic replacement.
Romania’s Coal Sector Has Contracted into Two Main Regions
Romanian coal production is divided mainly between lignite mining in Oltenia and hard coal mining in the Jiu Valley.
The Oltenia basin in southwestern Romania remains the center of active coal production and coal-fired electricity generation. Open-pit mines supply lignite directly to nearby power stations operated by the state-controlled Complexul Energetic Oltenia, commonly known as CE Oltenia.
The principal coal-fired sites have included Rovinari, Turceni and Ișalnița. These plants were built to use local lignite and developed alongside large mining operations, rail infrastructure, ash-storage areas and industrial service companies. The result is an energy complex in which mining and electricity production depend on each other.
Hard coal production in the Jiu Valley has declined much further. The region was once one of Romania’s most important mining areas, but repeated restructuring, mine closures and financial problems have reduced production to a small part of the national energy market.
The remaining mines are connected more closely to closure and environmental-management programs than to any major expansion of coal supply. The economic future of the Jiu Valley therefore depends on managing abandoned sites, supporting former workers and attracting industries that are not tied to coal extraction.
Oltenia Lignite Remains the Operational Core
CE Oltenia is the central company in Romania’s remaining coal sector. Its mines and power stations have provided domestic fuel, dispatchable electricity and employment across Gorj and Dolj counties.
Lignite has several energy-security advantages for Romania. It is locally available, does not require imported fuel contracts and can be stored near power plants. Coal units can also increase generation when hydropower output is weak or electricity demand rises.
These advantages have become less important as the cost of coal-fired power has increased. Romanian lignite plants must purchase carbon allowances under the European Union Emissions Trading System. The carbon cost can make their electricity significantly more expensive than nuclear, hydro, wind or solar generation.
The power stations are also aging. Maintaining boilers, turbines, emissions-control equipment, mines and ash-storage facilities requires continued investment even though the plants have limited remaining operating lives.
Romania and the European Commission approved a restructuring plan for CE Oltenia that links public support to a major reduction in lignite use. The plan combines coal-unit closures with solar development and new gas-fired generation. CE Oltenia has formed partnerships with private companies to build replacement projects, allowing the company to retain a role in the electricity market after lignite declines.
The restructuring has not progressed at the original speed. Construction, procurement and financing delays have prevented replacement power plants from entering service before some coal closure deadlines. As a result, Romania has had to revise the sequence rather than remove the entire coal fleet at once.
The Jiu Valley Is Already Living Through the Coal Exit
The Jiu Valley shows what happens when mining declines before a complete replacement economy has developed. Communities including Petroșani, Lupeni, Vulcan and Uricani have experienced job losses, population decline and reduced commercial activity as mines have closed.
Hard coal mining created specialized employment and supported local suppliers, transport services and public institutions. When that activity contracted, workers could not always move directly into sectors offering similar wages or requiring comparable skills.
The transition now involves more than closing underground operations. Authorities must secure old workings, control mine-water discharge, restore industrial land and manage long-term environmental risks. Former mine areas also require roads, utilities and investment-ready sites before they can attract new employers.
Tourism, renewable energy, small manufacturing, construction and local service industries are among the alternatives promoted for the region. None is likely to replace coal through one project. A more realistic strategy is to develop several smaller industries while improving transport, education and business infrastructure.
Delayed Replacement Projects Have Extended Coal’s Operating Life
Romania initially planned to close a large amount of coal-fired capacity by the end of 2025 and complete the transition through a combination of gas plants, renewable generation and storage. Those replacement projects did not advance quickly enough.
The country therefore renegotiated its schedule with the European Commission. Three coal units were permitted to remain active until the end of 2029, while two others could continue until August 2026. The extension covered part of a remaining coal fleet of approximately 2.6 gigawatts at the time of the decision.
The purpose was not to reverse the coal phase-out. It was to keep sufficient generation available until new gas-fired plants entered service. Two gas projects associated with the replacement program have a combined planned capacity of about 1.3 gigawatts, but procurement and construction delays pushed them beyond the original timetable.
Romania is also adding solar and wind capacity, supported by competitive contracts and European financing. Batteries, expanded cross-border trading and new transmission investment will help the system manage a larger share of variable generation.
Nuclear power will remain another major part of the replacement strategy. Romania already operates two CANDU reactors at Cernavodă and plans refurbishment and expansion projects. However, major nuclear construction takes longer than the remaining life of several coal units, so it cannot solve every short-term capacity problem.
The transition must therefore be sequenced across several technologies. Coal capacity can retire only when enough dependable electricity, grid infrastructure and balancing resources are available to replace it.
Coal Now Functions as an Energy-Security Buffer
Coal’s remaining importance in Romania is based less on annual generation than on availability during difficult market conditions.
Romania has a diverse electricity mix that includes hydropower, nuclear energy, natural gas, wind, solar and coal. This diversity is a major advantage, but each source has limitations. Hydropower output changes with rainfall. Wind and solar vary with weather. Nuclear plants require planned maintenance, while gas generation depends on fuel availability and market prices.
Coal plants can provide additional output when several of these conditions occur at the same time. In 2025, Romania generated approximately 14% of its electricity from coal and entered 2026 with about 2.1 gigawatts of gross coal-fired capacity.
At the same time, Romania imported more electricity than it exported during 2025. This does not mean the country must preserve coal indefinitely, but it explains why the government has resisted closing capacity before replacement projects are complete.
Keeping older coal plants available also has costs. Low operating hours reduce revenue, while maintenance, staffing and emissions expenses continue. Coal can therefore provide temporary insurance for the power system without remaining economically attractive as a long-term source of electricity.
The 2032 Exit Depends on Delivering the Replacement System
Romania had already decommissioned approximately 2.8 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity by the end of 2025. The industry is therefore well into its contraction rather than approaching it for the first time.
The 2032 coal phase-out remains the main direction of national policy. The final stages will depend on whether Romania completes delayed gas plants, expands renewable generation, strengthens the grid and brings storage projects into operation.
For Gorj, Dolj and Hunedoara, the deeper test will be economic. European transition funding can support training, business development, land restoration and clean energy projects, but those programs must create durable local employment.
Romania’s coal sector is unlikely to recover as a major national industry. Its remaining years will be defined by the timing of plant closures, the delivery of replacement capacity and the ability of mining regions to build economies that no longer depend on lignite or hard coal.
