Overview
Elisa Cristea is a Senior Associate at Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații, specialising in energy and natural resources, as well as environmental law.
Her practice covers a wide range of regulatory, transactional, and project development matters, with a particular focus on renewable energy, including solar, wind, biogas, and hydropower. She also assists clients on conventional energy projects, including matters concerning oil and gas operations, related permitting, regulatory requirements, and environmental compliance.
Elisa has advised leading domestic and international clients on high-value, technically complex transactions and energy development projects, covering the full lifecycle, from early-stage permitting and regulatory structuring to acquisition, construction, and operation. She also has extensive experience in environmental matters, assisting clients in relation to environmental compliance during both the construction and operational phases. In addition, Elisa is actively involved in mining law mandates, covering the regulatory and compliance aspects specific to the mining and petroleum sectors.
Elisa is also a PhD student in Environmental Law at the University of Bucharest, with a research focus on the intersection between renewable energy and environmental law.
Relevant Matters:
- Advising a leading international energy company in connection with the development and operation of a gas-fired power plant, one of the largest projects of its kind in Europe, with an estimated value of EUR 1.2 billion, including regulatory and operational matters, as well as assistance with the negotiation of a sensitive agreement concerning the operation of the plant, involving Romanian regulatory considerations and English law contractual drafting and negotiation.
- Advising the project company implementing Romania’s first small modular reactor project on a first-of-its-kind permitting and regulatory process in Romania. The assistance covers nuclear, environmental, planning, construction, and related permitting matters, as well as the structuring of the regulatory pathway for the development and implementation of the project.
- Advising a leading integrated energy company in connection with its investments in renewable energy projects developed by a major Romanian renewables group, including solar, wind, and battery storage projects. The assistance covered regulatory, transactional, and project development matters relevant to the acquisition and implementation of the relevant energy assets.
- Advising a leading Romanian financial institution on the financing of Romania’s largest battery energy storage facility, located in Florești, Cluj County, with an installed capacity of 200 MW and a storage capacity of 400 MWh. The project was financed through an investment loan exceeding EUR 75,000,000, with assistance covering energy regulatory, project finance, and due diligence aspects.
- Advising a leading international investment group on a series of complex transactions in the Romanian and regional energy markets, carried out as part of a strategic portfolio reorganisation. The transactions involved simultaneous and reciprocal sales of stakes in multiple renewable energy project companies, including Romanian and regional assets.