Romania might have 2,800 MW to 3,200 MW installed by the end of 2014 if no spectacular changes occur as a result of the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone or the modification of the legal framework in Romania, concludes a report on green energy by law firm Schoenherr si Asociatii and consultancy, accounting and audit firm TPA Horwath Romania.
The “Wind Energy and Other Renewable Energy Sources in Romania” says that the first wind turbine in this country was installed in 2004.
“It was a second-hand turbine and was under 1 MW. In 2007 and 2008 hundreds of masts were installed around Romania to collect data on wind patterns,” the report reads.
At the end of 2009, Romania had only 14 MW in operation, while today it has 1,390 MW, as much as two reactors of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant (SE Romania).
The main factor that contributed to this fast-paced development is the support scheme put in place by the Romanian government, based on green certificates and on the mandatory renewable energy quotas electricity suppliers have to meet every year.
Over the coming years, the Schoenherr and Horwath officials say, the positive factors that will influence the newly-installed capacities are the attractiveness of the support mechanism, the race against time to have the renewable energy projects connected to the grid by the end of 2013 (solar farms) or by end of 2014 (the other technologies) in order to benefit from the current level of support through the governmental scheme, and the connection of the wind farm projects to the grid as soon as possible to get the two green certificates per megawatt awarded until the end of 2017.
Although the wind power sector is believed to stand chances of substantial growth on short term, solar projects are the real stars now.
“There’s been a shift in focus from wind to solar power,” says Monica Cojocaru, a lawyer with Schoenherr si Asociatii.
Horwath officials say the same thing.
“Solar energy will be where most investments will be go. It is an impressive development,” said Cristina Petrescu, partner with Horwath Romania.
This is because of the generous support scheme, which currently rewards one megawatt generated by a solar farm with six green certificates, worth EUR27 to EUR55 each, while wind power gets only two.
Beyond the attractive support scheme, Romania also has an edge over other countries with the shorter investment approval process.
“According to the European Wind Energy Association, as far as the total average time between submission of an application for the construction permit and connection to the grid is concerned, Romania appears to be ahead of the game with an average process time of around 31.7 months, compared with the EU average of 54.8 months,” the report reads.
Moreover, whereas in the 27 EU member states the average number of officials whose involvement is required to implement an investment is 18, in Romania the average is 13.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)