Rovinari unit 7, Romania

In January 2013, the general manager of the Oltenia Energy Complex said the new unit will export the electricity to Austria and Turkey. China Huadian conducted a pre-feasibility study in 2014 for the construction of this unit at Rovinari, indicating the need to dismantle some of the existing infrastructure,  something that would increase the costs of the project and which the representatives CE Oltenia disagreed with at the time. In addition, China Huadian Engineering Co. requested customs exemptions for equipment imported from China, demanding at the same time a long term power purchase agreement or a guaranteed price for coal, which, under European legislation, may be considered illegal state aid. China Huadian would ensure the full financing of the investment, being the main shareholder of the joint venture IPP (Independent Power Producer) that would be created and CE Oltenia would have a share of under 9%.

Since 2012, Bankwatch Romania has filed a series of complaints in court, requesting the annulment of illegally issued deforestation permits and mine expansion permits which did not assess impacts on the environment. Almost all the actions have been successful in court. After an infringement procedure was initiated by the European Commission, all expansions were reassessed. However, the new permits fail to evaluate the cumulative impact of the mines, and are therefore again the subject of Bankwatch Romania court action, one of them being currently suspended. To date (May 2018) no environmental impact assessment procedure has been launched.