Plans for the energy sector
PM Ciucă met with officials for a German company planning to open a solar panel production unit in Romania
Roxana Vasile, 07.03.2023, 13:50
The German company AE SOLAR plans to produce solar panels in Romania, in one of the largest investments announced in the country in the past few years.
PM Nicolae Ciucă has met with officers of the firm, which intends to invest a total of EUR 1 bln, the Government announced. In a first stage, the project will have a 2-gigawatt capacity, and after the full integration of production flows the capacity will reach 10 gigawatts, accounting for one-third of Europes demand.
AE SOLAR, which operates in 95 countries, confirmed that the first stage of the Romanian plan would be operational this very year. What the government is to do next is analyse the resources that may be obtained from EU funding or from the national budget to support the project. Experts will be involved from the Black Sea Universities Network, who will be able to work together through a science park paired with the production facilities, the governments news release also says.
According to PM Ciucă, AE SOLARs investment will place Romania at the forefront of European production of solar panels and will contribute substantially to the countrys energy independence and to environment protection, given the use of clean, renewable energy for electricity production.
Modernisation was also the key topic in the PMs talks with Mass Global Energy Rom, which last year took over the coal-fired thermal power plant in Mintia, in the west of the country. Company officials told PM Nicolae Ciucă about an over EUR 1 bln investment plan designed to turn the unit into the EUs largest and most efficient gas-based electricity production facility, able to produce at least 1,500 megawatts.
The first stage of the investment is due for completion within 24 months, with the entire project to be finalised in 36 months. During this time, the power plant elements will be prepared for the switch to new, hydrogen-based technologies to produce energy.
“The Black Sea natural gas reserves, which are currently able to cover 10% of the annual domestic demand, will turn Romania, in the coming years, into one of the largest gas producers in the EU. The power plant in Mintia, which will use gas as a resource for the production of electricity, will take full advantage of this, enabling Romania to cover its domestic demand and also to export, thus helping the Republic of Moldova and our EU partners,” PM Nicolae Ciucă promised. (AMP)
