Moldova's green energy surge: A renewable energy revolution
Moldova has doubled its renewable energy production this year compared to last year. This growth is driven by the increasing number of citizens and businesses adopting photovoltaic and biogas systems.
Green energy's share significantly increased in the third quarter, primarily due to photovoltaic parks. Renewable energy installations generated 6% of the total energy purchased by SA Energocom. In 2024, monthly green energy generation doubled compared to the previous year.
The increased production of renewable energy supplied to the national grid is due to the growing interest of entrepreneurs in green energy, explained energy efficiency expert Valeriu Meșină. Photovoltaic, wind, and biogas installations have become more accessible on the market. Additionally, the state and development partners are offering grants and support programs for entrepreneurs.
“Firstly, at the legislative level, changes have been made, making it much easier to obtain connection permits, depending on the area. There are certain areas related to photovoltaic panels where the network allows it. If you install a one-megawatt farm, they allow you to obtain connection permits. These technologies have become cheaper. Technologies have advanced, and you can obtain more energy from the same surface area,” said Valeriu Meșină.
Vladimir Claihcnet, an entrepreneur who owns a truck repair shop, says he was one of the first on the market to install photovoltaic panels nine years ago when the cost of such technologies was significantly higher. Now he manages to save up to 30,000 lei per month and is completely energy independent: “If you consume what you produce, it's profitable. For 30 kilowatts at that time, I paid about 35,000 euros for installation and commissioning. Now it's more affordable. Simply, I think production has started massively, and with high competition, prices have had to decrease to have sales. If we take a ratio of 12 months, we are practically at zero with energy.”
Such profitable technologies are a trend of the future, says the economic director of one of the largest poultry companies in Moldova, Roman Sîrbu. He owns photovoltaic panels for his own consumption and biogas installations to sell energy on the market at prices set by the National Regulatory Agency for Energy.
“Biogas is energy that is produced and sold to the grid. As for photovoltaic batteries, of course, they reduce costs, but biogas production still has costs. And it costs quite a lot because the maintenance of the biogas plant is quite expensive, and many people are involved in this work process. But automatically, you also solve several problems with ecology, waste, disposal, plus you get a good fertilizer for the land,” said Roman Sîrbu.
Currently, over 200 producers supply electricity to the state-owned company "Energocom" from renewable sources. Moldova aims to produce at least 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
