Altius Fotovoltaic is part of the Bomax group of businessman Sorin Bonciu, which has energy and real estate development operations. The company set out to export 8 million lei (EUR1.8 million) worth this year, half of the revenue budgeted for 2015. It posted RON13 million revenue in 2014 and expects RON16 million this year.
“We are working in two shifts at the plant in Giurgiu, turning out a panel every two minutes. Demand from abroad has gone up,” Murgescu says.
Altius Fotovoltaic found a customer in France for the solar panels it makes in the plant in the Giurgiu Free Trade Zone. It is also working for an Italian customer, a solar PV panel manufacturer itself, which was unable to cope with demand and turned to the Romanian company for a long-term partnership, Murgescu added.
The Altius Fotovoltaic plant opened in 2013, following a EUR8 million investment and is the only such plant in Romania. Other companies such as Renovatio and Siliken tried their luck on this market but they did not last long. Altius facility has three assembly lines and an annual capacity of 86 MW.
Murgescu says the solar power market has increased compared with last year, especially when it comes to industrial customers, where more and more companies are installing their own solar panel systems.
Altius Fotovoltaic is also considering business opportunities in the agricultural sector, where it has already started looking for farmers who plan to invest in their own generation facilities to get the power they need for irrigation.
“Agricultural sector is our target now. Everything started from this year’s drought and the problems farmers are experiencing.”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)