Romania is likely to double its wind power capacity this year, as investors consider the attractive European Union- approved incentives for investment in renewable industry.
It is expected that installed wind power capacity will increase to 2,100 megawatts by the end of 2012 in Romania, from about 1,000 megawatts at the end of 2011, said . The Black Sea country now has an installed capacity of over 1,500 megawatts of wind power.
Ion Lungu, president of the Association of Electricity Suppliers in Romania, said:
“Romania can support an installed capacity of about 3,500 megawatts of wind power, considering its current infrastructure and backup capacity,” Lungu said in an interview in Bucharest today. “That may increase if additional investments are made and new generation units become operational.”
Romania has attracted a number of investors in its renewable energy industry, including Iberdrola SA (IBE), Portugal’s biggest utility EDP , Germany’s EON AG and Italy’s Enel SA. Romania wants to attract 5 billion euros ($6.3 billion) in wind-power investments by 2020 under the incentive program. CEZ, the Czech Republic’s largest power producer, is one of the biggest investors in wind energy in Romania. It is building a 1.1 billion-euro wind farm in the Constanta region near the Black Sea and so far has 388 megawatts operational. The total of 600 megawatts should be installed by the end of 2012.
Most recently, the Indian company Suzlon have struck a deal to supply eight 3.2 MW large wind turbines to a wind farm in the North East of the country at Margineni (Neamt county, Romania). The wind turbine maker has set up a Romanian subsidiary, REpower Systems DTE Romania SRL , and established its headquarters in Bucharest. One of the world’s largest wind turbine makers, Suzlon is working on strategies to shed its non-core assets during these difficult times and the contract is therefore a much-needed boost for the firm. REpower Systems SE, a wholly owned subsidiary within the Suzlon Group, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of onshore and offshore wind turbines. The international mechanical engineering company has more than 2,900 employees and has manufactured and installed over 3,800 wind turbines around the world. The turbines will be the 3.2M114 model, each with a rated power of 3.2MW, a hub height of 93 metres and a rotor diameter of 114 metres. The wind farm is set to be constructed and commissioned by autumn of next year.
Romania’s incentive is in the form of green certificates with a value of 28 euros to 57 euros for each megawatt-hour of energy produced from wind. The State-owned power-grid operator Transelectrica SA (TEL) is planning to invest 782 million lei ($219 million) this year to expand and upgrade its outdated grid so as to accommodate the rising output from renewable energy sources such as wind farms. The third annual Romanian wind power conference will be held in Bucharest next January. It is likely to attract a lot of interest from investors and wind turbine manufacturers.
