How May Natural Gas Be a Reliable Partner for the Transition to Green Energy

The European Green Deal, by its commitment toward greenhouse gas net-zero emissions by 2050 by reducing pollution and restoring biodiversity, transforms climate and environmental challenges into opportunities to change the current unsustainable context in the long term. In this respect, Romania has entered a path of replacing classic fuels with clean energy, which is very efficient and as safe as the one people are used to, and this is the main objective of this chapter. In achieving this objective, in the first part of the chapter, the main advantages that Romania has in this transition are identified (its own offshore gas reserves; its own national network of natural gas transport that is well interconnected with the systems of neighboring countries, and through them to the European ones; a fuel with the lowest CO2 emissions of all fossil fuels; and a fuel that ensures constancy and security of the energy system, at affordable costs for the population). The second part of the chapter focuses on identifying and presenting the main projects that make natural gas a reliable partner for renewable resources; thus, a case study is presented regarding a joint business for producing hydrogen by a wind farm in the Dobrogea area that could become the “Hydrogen Valley,” initiated by Romgaz and OMV Petrom. Finally, the chapter concludes that for the energy sector, not only natural gas represents the optimal solution in this process, with Romania being in the privileged position of owning its gas resources, while the versatility of natural gas can ensure a just energy transition.