German company Conergy entered the Romanian market with an investment in a photovoltaic park of 2.2 MW at Bobiceşti, close to the city of Craiova. The project is being developed in partnership with Solanna Investment. Conergy will supply 9,400 PowerPlus solar panel modules for the project, which will cover some 13,700 sqm. The annual production of the park, some 2,840 MWh, will be enough to supply electricity for 870 households. In a first stage, Conergy will operate in Romania via its Italian subsidiary.

Last year, Romania's energy regulator ANRE suggested it may recommend a reduction in the incentives given to solar energy projects. The proposed reduction would cut the green certificates awarded per megawatt of capacity from six to five in response to the reducing investment needs of solar projects. “We need to analyze the 2012 report on investment costs and we will see whether the number of green certificates needs to be reduced or not,” said ANRE chief Nicolae Havrilet.

The investment level needed to produce energy via solar power plants has reportedly halved in the last two years to around EUR 1.5 million per megawatt.

The Romanian renewable energy sector has seen a lot of recent investments as the country tries to meet commitments made to reduce carbon emissions by 2020. Energy firms CEZ, EP Global Energy, Enel and Suzlon, among others, are currently involved in wind farm projects in Romania.

Chinese photovoltaic cell producer Renesola bought into Lucas Est, which runs a solar energy plant in Prahova country, at the the end of September 2012. Meanwhile, Portuguese firm Martifer Solar finalized a 1.5 MW solar park in Vrancea county at the end of July 2012.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: sxc.hu)