BUCHAREST, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Romania is negotiating with the European Commission to delay shutting down 2.6 gigawatts of coal-fired generation by at least five years, Romanian Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan said on Tuesday.

Romania uses a mix of gas, coal, hydro, nuclear and renewables for electricity generation. The government had committed to phasing out lignite and hard coal from 2026 under its European Union-funded recovery aid package.

State-owned lignite power holding CE Oltenia has partnered with three private companies - OMV Petrom (ROSNP.BX), opens new tab, Tinmar and Alro Slatina (ALR.BX), opens new tab - to build solar parks and gas-fired power plants to replace coal assets, but the projects will be completed later than initially envisioned.

In central Romania, private developer MAS Group Holding is building a 1.7 GW steam and gas power plant that will replace outdated hard coal fired generation.

"Right now we are having fairly intense negotiations to postpone the deadline by at least five years, a realistic deadline for when we will connect new gas-fired energy units," Ivan told reporters.

The country has been asking for a postponement since 2023.

Ivan said Romania will send Brussels a study showcasing the negative impact on the economy and power market that will be triggered by shutting down coal assets by 2026.

He also said that Romania expected to add 12.96 GW worth of new gas, nuclear, wind and solar power units by 2032, using EU funds as well as private and state investment, including 2.25 GW in storage capacity.

"This will take us as a country from a net power importer to a net exporter," Ivan said.

A large offshore gas project which will come online in 2027 is also expected to turn Romania into a net gas exporter. The country already produces about 90% of its required gas locally through state producer Romgaz , oil and gas group OMV Petrom and Black Sea Oil & Gas (BSOG).