A Series of Articles on the Romanian Wind Energy sector

Business Review began some two months ago a series of articles and interviews on the Wind Energy sector in Romania.

Below is the lead article of this series, written by Dana Ciuraru:

Wind energy: many call but few are chosen

About 17,500 MW worth of wind farm projects are sitting in the Romanians authorities’ in-tray, while the national grid for wind energy is connected to just 1,500 MW. The projects could whistle up over EUR 1 billions of investments and jobs for local communities, especially in the Dobrogea region, an epicenter for the wind energy business. But the authorities declare themselves incapable of dealing with the schemes. Year after year only a few projects are authorized to connect to the national energy transportation system. Who are the lucky ones?
In a crisis, the billion euro plus of announced wind power plant projects are likely to hike FDI in Romania in a time of need. „There is a real interest from local and foreign companies in investing in renewable energy, especially wind energy production. Big investors like the Spanish group Iberdrola and Italian company Enel have expressed their intention to develop wind farms in Romania worth EUR 1.5 billion,” said Gabriel Baleanu, an Economy Ministry expert. Among interested companies BR can also name Electrica, Eviva (subsidiary of the Portuguese group Martifer), Czech company CEZ, German energy firm E.ON and Verbund of Austria.
But it isn’t enough to find a good piece of land and have the money to invest. The national energy transportation system is underdeveloped and cannot sustain such demand. „The Economy Ministry has received a significant amount of wind energy production projects. Their total capacity is of 17,680 MW of installed power, much more than the capacity of the national energy transportation system, which is approximately 4,000-5,000 MW. We are dealing with an over-subscription for wind energy production,” said economy minister Adriean Videanu.
Moreover, Transelectrica, the national energy transporter, announced at the end of February that it had had requests to connect some 4,000 MW in wind energy to the national grid, 25 percent of the total value of the projects. Transelectrica gave the green light for just 1,500 MW to be connected to the grid.
Portuguese firm Martifer is discussing with a local developer the possibility of acquiring a 35 MW wind farm project in the Babadag Dobrogea region. According to market sources, the price could reach EUR 7 million. Eviva Energy, a subsidiary of the Portuguese group, bought a 10 percent stake at the end of last year in local firm Ground Investment Corp, which is developing the EUR 675,000 project. Market specialists say that Martifer has another on-going project in Babadag with a capacity of 35 MW. Its goal is to have wind farms with a total installed capacity of 400 MW in Romania by 2012, which could cost EUR 600 million.
Meanwhile, Danish company Vestas announced that it had received an order from another Portuguese firm, EDP, for 228 MW of capacity locally. „By the end of 2008, Romania had a total of 76 MW installed capacity in wind power,” said Hans Jorn Rieks, president of Vestas Central Europe.
Three investment funds from Spain which usually invest in renewable energy are also exploring the possibility of investing in local wind farms. According to Mihai Mares, coordinating lawyer on the local market for international law house Garrigues, the three have at their disposal about EUR 200 million for this kind of project.
„There are investors specialized in the energy sector, venture capital funds focused on renewable energy projects, interested in developing wind farm projects with local partners, and in two or three years, making their exit,” said Mares. According to him, these funds plan to sign several agreements for projects of between 30 and 100 MW.
Also interested in investing in wind farm projects is the Italian firm Energia&Servizi. Its officials have contacted the local authorities from Botosani to discuss investments in the region. „Company representatives are keen to start the project this year. They said that the results of the tests carried out in this area have increased their expectations,” said David Salgau, a Botosani local authority official. According to him, the Italian firm has already decided to install the first generators in the Stefanesti area, as they could connect to the grid at the unit in Stanca-Costesti.
Such wind farm projects mean incomes of 1 percent from the energy value delivered into the grid and, perhaps more importantly, jobs for local people. The Dobrogea region still attracts most of the investors. Tomis Team announced a EUR 900 million, 600 MW wind farm project which is to be completed this summer. And in Tariverde, Costanta County, Iberdrola and Eolica Dobrogea will develop a wind power plant of 1,500 MW, which will be operational next year. Similarly, Eco Power Energy Production is developing a 80 MW wind farm near Ramnicu Sarat, a EUR 130 million investment.
Energy companies have announced hundreds of millions of euros worth of investments in wind energy projects and continue to express their interest in this direction. But the undeveloped national grid and the legislative instability are proving even more of a scarecrow than the current economic crisis.

Radu Voinescu

Energie eoliana

CEZ supposed to start first turbines at Fantanele these days

News Alert about the Wind Energy sector in Romania, so to say:

In an interview he gave for Business Review, a CEZ representative announced that the first wind turbines from the landmark project they are currently developing at Fantanele will start working this month, June 2009.

Windman Interviewed ;)

Below is a short interview I gave for Business Review:

 

3Q – Radu Voinescu, partner at Boeru Voinescu Grup

In what wind energy projects are you involved?
Currently, we are providing management consultancy for a Spanish joint-venture company, based in Madrid, which wants to invest in wind energy projects in Romania. The company started wind measurements in 2007 in five locations in Romania and some others in Bulgaria, from which it finally chose three such locations in our country to develop these projects. All these locations are in Constanta county and each project will probably have some 30 MW. Besides this, we are currently in discussions with investors who could be interested in investing in wind energy projects in Timis county and Suceava. In Timis, we are in the phase of analyzing the wind, technical and land maps in order to establish which area will be better to invest in and who owns the land.How do you see this market in the future?
The wind farm market is one that was hiking when all the others started falling and massive lay-offs were announced. There is still room on this market. In the past three months, we have been contacted by five companies interested in entering this market.

In which other energy projects are you involved?
We are assisting an American investor who put his money into a bio ethanol factory. The total investment is about EUR 30 million and the factory will be operational by 2010. The investor already has contracts to sell the production. According to investor data in Romania there is a potential for ten such factories. Besides this project, we are involved in the process of authorization for a co-generation unit which uses biomass with a capacity of 700 kW.

Radu Voinescu

Energie eoliana

 

Jobs in Renewable Energy

The European Commission’s study on the impact of renewable energy policy on economic growth and employment in the European Union (Employ-RES) indicate that EU 20% renewable energy target can deliver 2.8 million jobs and that biomass, wind and hydro technologies are currently the most important for job opportunities.

According to the study, in 2005, the renewable energy sector employed 1.4 million people among the member states with a gross value of 58 billion EUR (approximately $80 billion) with higher employment expected particularly in the member states that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007. Implementation of the renewable energy policy will generate about 410,000 additional jobs and 0.24 percent additional GDP in the EU-27 in 2020.

However, the study indicates that current RES support policies will result in final energy consumption of 14 percent by 2020 and 17 percent by 2030, which indicates a need for improved policies to reap maximum economic benefits from renewable energy. The study also finds that more innovative technologies such as photovoltaic, offshore wind, solar thermal electricity and second-generation biofuels require more financial support in the short term, and will be key to achieving the EU’s 2020 target.

In terms of greenhouse emissions, European finance ministers may draw on shipping and airlines for money to help pay poor nations deal with climate change, according to draft proposals, report Reuters. EU finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg on June 9 are expected to identify possible finance sources for poor countries that could help develop drought-resistant crops or new water sources, according to Reuters.

Greenhouse gas emissions from shipping and airline sectors, which have been growing steadily over the past 15 years, will be evaluated at a United Nations meeting in Copenhagen in December to find a new global deal on fighting climate change, according to Reuters. The key issue will be finding the finance needed to persuade developing nations to cut their carbon dioxide emissions. However, poor nations would be expected to deliver concrete proof of emissions cuts in return for the cash, reports Reuters.

Nou parc eolian in constructie – Toplet

Sebastian Enache, directorul Wind Power Energy, un actor din sectorul energiei eoliene pe care il urmaresc cu placere, interes si respect, mi-a trimis deunazi aceste doua linkuri pe care am placerea sa le impartasesc cu Dumneavoastra aici:

http://www.wpe.ro/gallery/album-3.html

Interviu in Business Review

E vorba de niste fotografii facute in timpul constructiei unui parc eolian adevarat si de un interviu in care primim mai multe explicatii si informatii despre proiect si dezvoltator.

Multumim de informatii si la mai mare!

Radu Voinescu

Energie eoliana

Renewable Energy took the lead

It’s like the passage from film to digital or from fixed phones to mobiles: there is a moment when the switch is done from Old to New and the curves cross themselves, the Upwards goes higher than the Downwads. It’s time for a toast: last year more money was invested in renewable energy sources than in fossils. Here goes:

Global investors spent about $250 billion building new power capacity in 2008, and for the first time the lion’s share of that money went to renewable sources, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

Renewable sources accounted for 56 percent of investment dollars, worth $140 billion, while investment in fossil fuel technologies was $110 billion, the U.N. program said in a report, Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2009, released on Wednesday and produced in collaboration with New Energy Finance, a research company based in London.