Solar Open Day - Solar energy, double impact for communities

Solar Open Day brought the public closer to a new photovoltaic park. On September 17, the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA) organized in Călugăreni, Giurgiu County, the third edition of the event, which has already become a landmark for the solar energy industry.

This year’s host was PPC Renewables Romania, which opened the doors of the Lumina photovoltaic park, which has been operational since 2023. Spread over 88 hectares, the park includes over 120,000 solar panels and has an installed capacity of 63 MW, producing approximately 99 GWh of green energy annually. Through this production, Lumina contributes to avoiding over 112,000 tons of CO₂ emissions each year and provides a concrete example of how clean energy can support Romania’s decarbonization goals.

But beyond the numbers, Lumina also tells a story about the community. Through partnerships with local schools and Curtea Veche Publishing, PPC Renewables Romania has carried out a series of educational and infrastructure initiatives: from reading workshops and book donations for libraries to school furniture assembled by the company's volunteers. These actions increasingly show that clean energy not only means electricity production, but also concrete benefits for the communities that host these projects.

Solar Open Day aims to bring solar energy closer to the public – not only through technologies and installations, but also through experiences and dialogue. The theme of this edition, “Clean energy, double impact for communities”, highlighted both the role of renewable energy in the national energy system and the direct benefits for people’s daily lives.

Andrei Manea, Executive Director of RPIA, emphasized:

“We can count on solar energy as a safe and stable resource, and the Lumina photovoltaic park is one of the most innovative projects in Romania, because it also integrates energy storage solutions. It is an essential step for the flexibility and security of the system. The solar industry in Romania has reached a stage of maturity, much more stable than in the beginning, and the fact that we are now talking about integrating storage shows the real progress we are making in the energy transition.”

Adrian Dugulan, General Manager of PPC Renewables Romania, said:

“Today, we open the gates of the Lumina photovoltaic park on the occasion of Solar Open Day and invite the wider community to see firsthand how solar energy works and why it matters for our future. Lumina is one of the projects that successfully combines clean energy production technology with storage technology and contributes to the long-term vision of PPC Renewables Romania to be a leader in the region’s energy. Romania has an important role in this transition that we can support with projects that bring real benefits to people, society, and the environment.”