Romania has 16.000 MW of pending capacities for wind projects

Newsroom 08/11/2011 | 13:35

Romania has signed contracts for 8415 MW of installed wind capacities, while over 7000 MW are stable contracts for connection to the national grid, according to Octavian Lohan, deputy general director of Transelectrica, the national grid operator. This statement was made today during an event on energy organized today by Mediafax newswire. Lohan added that other investors are seeking to develop wind projects totaling 14.000 MW of installed capacities.

Lohan stated the challenge do not lay only in the capacity of the national grid operator to acquire and transport the energy, but also in the commercial area, as Romania is not a big consumer and the energy will have to be monetized.

The Transelectrica representative explained that 12 percent of the energy consumed in Romania will have to come from clean sources in 2012. This percentage will increase to 16 percent in 2015 and will reach 20 percent in 2020.

In order to keep up with the fast development of the renewable industry, Transelectrica will need to invest around EUR 500 million for setting up 1000 km of power lines, building 21 transformation units and acquiring units that regulate tension flows. At present, the grid operator doesn’t have the financing or the legal framework to go ahead with the projects.

Ovidiu Posirca