Renewable energy in Romania: the answer is blowin' in the wind

A new report suggests that wind energy has a bright future in Romania. Wind energy is developing around the world, but the pace is fastest in Europe, according to the TPA Horwath report on renewable energy. Romania's position as a good location for investment in wind energy is also improving; the country moved from being the 12th to the 10th most attractive country for investment in renewable energy in the world in Ernst & Young's 'Renewable energy country attractiveness index,' published in February this year.

The overall installed capacity of wind farms in Romania is relatively small – 1,140 MW in April 2012 compared to Europe's number one Germany – 29,060 MW. However, in the last year Romania was amongst the leaders in Europe for newly installed capacity, an increase of 520 MW, putting the country in seventh place behind Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, France and Sweden. Regionally, Romania led the pack for installing wind energy, ahead of second placed Poland's 436 MW of newly installed capacity. According to the TPA Horwath report, despite making big progress in wind farm development - doubling capacity in the space of a year, Romania is still behind the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) and the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) estimates. Both organizations estimated 1,200 MW installed capacity by end 2011, while the actual figure reached was 992 MW. The two organizations estimate wind capacity to reach 1,850 MW by the end of 2012. The report predicts the installed capacity to double this year, based on sources from the industry, which would take the total to around the level estimated by ANRE and NREAP. Large international corporations have already invested in Romanian wind farms and manufacturers are being drawn in behind them. The high quality production sector and the low labor costs are, according to the report, making Romania very attractive to wind energy investors. Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com photo source: Siemens