Finance | 29 May, 2023 at 12:00 PM
Solar Global builds photovoltaic park in Cluj County
ProCredit Bank Romania has granted €2.9 million of financing to a company from the Solar Global group in the Czech Republic.
ProCredit Bank Romania has granted €2.9 million of financing to a company from the Solar Global group in the Czech Republic.
EnergoBit and Huawei Romania signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for global cooperation for photovoltaic and energy storage projects, within the New International Expo Center 2023, which took place these days in Shanghai. Based on the Memorandum of Understanding, the companies will develop the photovoltaic industry in Romania by strengthening technological innovation, improving the user experience, and developing new use cases.
The introduction of the electronic signature will help save around 1,200,000 sheets of paper in 2023, which means 120 trees saved. CreditAmanet, a Romanian company specializing in short-term lending services and currency exchange, details three good practices that transform the business into a sustainable one.
The schools in Vrancea will be equipped with photovoltaic panels. The Minister of Investments and European Projects, Marcel Boloș, and the President of the Vrancea County Council, Cătălin Toma, signed the contract worth a total of €1.2 million for the production of green energy in the county. The contract will finance the project "Investments in electricity production capacities for own consumption at the level of Vrancea County". The project is financed by the Large Infrastructure Operational Program 2014-2020.
Autonom, an integrated provider of mobility and financing services, has launched a solution dedicated to electric cars to address concerns associated with the adoption of electric vehicles, such as long-distance car autonomy, charging, maintenance costs, technological advancement, and resale value risk. Number three in the market of operational leasing and car rental companies ordered at the beginning of the year, with the help of an EIB loan of €32 million, 200 Tesla electric cars (Model 3 and Model Y).
ENGIE Romania launches a complete management solution for electric car charging stations. ENGIE Romania, in partnership with Etrel, a Landis+Gyr company, is launching a management solution for electric charging stations, available to individuals, companies, and public charging stations.
DTEK Renewables International, part of the DTEK group founded in 2005 by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, acquires a greenfield project from the Romanian company Finas Invest SRL, which is based in Cluj-Napoca and operates on the renewable energy market. The acquisition of the photovoltaic plant with an installed capacity of 49.38 MW, located in the village of Glodeni, Mureş county, was announced by the law firm Wolf Theiss, which consulted DTEK Renewables.
TAROM aims for a new record for the most efficient medium-courier flight, part of the "SkyTeam Sustainable Flight Challenge" competition. The TAROM company participates, for the second consecutive year, in the sustainable flight challenge organized by the SkyTeam alliance. The sustainable TAROM Bucharest-Madrid-Otopeni route, operated with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, meant a fuel economy of approximately 800 kg. Essentially, the fuel economy results in a significant reduction in CO2 emissions of over 2.5 tonnes.
Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced that the Schneider Electric Sustainability School is open for enrolment. Free to access, the digital platform provides a range of interactive courses aimed at equipping companies and professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to improve their sustainability performance.
At Romanian private equity fund ROCA Investments, ESG considerations are gradually turning into a critical part of the investment and portfolio management processes, says CEO Rudolf Vizental
Investment company Evergent Investments, based in Bacău County, identifies a "growing demand for organic products" and is now investing in organic blueberry production. The company announces that it continues the development of the Private Equity portfolio, increasing the area of the "Blueberry Farms" project to 105 ha, through the purchase of 50 ha through the company Ever Agribio. The new land is intended for the production of organic blueberries, which meets the growing demand for organic products.
OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy company in Southeast Europe, announces the signing of a financing contract through the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience for the construction of a hydrogen production capacity by water electrolysis at the Petrobrazi refinery. The contract was signed with the Ministry of Energy, for a maximum value of about €39 million, the total investment being estimated at about €74 million.
Drobeta Turnu Severin Emergency County Hospital becomes energy efficient, by installing monocrystalline photovoltaic panels. The Mehedinți County Council announces that an important part of the modernization and energy efficiency project of the hospital's main building is the thermal efficiency of the building together with alternative energy sources that will ensure both patient comfort and lower costs for the maintenance of the medical unit.
This week, the first ecology camp organized as part of the "Cleaning Month in Bihor County" campaign was held, run by the Bihor County Council and Ecolect Group Bihor. This day camp aimed to educate young people about the importance of protecting the environment and ecology, developing sustainable entrepreneurial skills, but also raising awareness of the existence of digital applications that support the community in order to protect the environment, such as Bihor Curat and Forest Inspector.
2,544 ancient beech trees from Nucșoara can be adopted in the "Forest of Immortal Stories". The new project is an initiative of the Commune of Nucșoara in Argeș County, carried out with the support of the Conservation Carpathia team and aims to protect some of the most spectacular ancient beech trees in Europe and to contribute to the tourism development of the area. Anyone can adopt a secular beech tree for RON700 (€140), choosing it from a map of the site or searching by a preferred number.
Romania requests, through the RePowerEU mechanism, substantial European funds for subsidizing the installation of photovoltaic panels for natural persons. It is about €400 million, the amount that could be included in some kind of complementary program to the program of the Environmental Fund Administration for the installation of photovoltaic panels on residential homes.
Romania should have a body that regulates the ESG field (environment, social, and governance), and the ministries should prepare sustainability reports, says Călin Ionescu, CEO of Sphera Franchise Group. Although there is an obligation to publish the ESG report for all companies with over 500 employees, apart from multinationals, most do not publish it because there is no sanction.
A photovoltaic park with an installed power greater than that of a Cernavodă nuclear reactor will be built in Romania, which reflects the appetite of investors to become players in this market again. George-Sergiu Niculescu, president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), says that when he arrived at ANRE's management, he saw a request for authorization to establish a photovoltaic park of approximately 1,050 MW.
The inspectors from the Romanian Water Administration issued fines of almost €100,000 following checks made at the ballast stations, finding that in some cases the operators were illegally exploiting tens of hectares of land. In these cases, the institutions with attributions in the field will also be notified. Controls were organized in the Argeș-Vedea, Banat, and Mureș hydrographic basins, discovering irregularities in 12 companies with profile activity.
7 out of 10 Romanians who install photovoltaic systems are from urban areas. Also, RON35,000 (€7,000) is the average value of the projects implemented and in the process of implementation, shows a study by the company Ensys, a supplier of turnkey photovoltaic systems in Romania. It shows that the amortization period of a photovoltaic system is 2-7 years. The study shows that 7 out of 10 Romanians who install photovoltaic systems are from the urban environment, and 8 out of 10 customers who install photovoltaic systems are men.
The European Union has reached a provisional agreement to reduce the scope and stringency of two major ESG regulatory frameworks: Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Lidl Romania has published its eighth sustainability report for the 2024 financial year, announcing accelerated progress in reducing environmental impact. The retailer has achieved its international 2030 target for transitioning to natural refrigerants, with these now used in 100% of logistics centres and 81.7% of stores, compared to the original goal of 100% of logistics centres and 40% of stores. The company has also increased its green energy usage to 80% of total consumption.
Global law firm Dentons has advised OX2 on acquiring three wind power projects totaling 235 MW in Romania from Future Power. The projects, located in Vaslui and Vrancea counties, are expected to be commissioned between 2028 and 2030, subject to permitting.
Romania is emerging as a key destination for Turkish renewable energy investments, attracting growing interest from industrial and financial groups. Real grid connection opportunities for projects, infrastructure modernisation potential, and investment framework stability make Romania strategic for Turkish capital as Europe accelerates its transition to sustainable sources and energy independence.
51% of Romanian entrepreneurs see sustainability as a way to reduce operational costs, yet the same proportion say implementation is too expensive, according to a new study by BRD Groupe Société Générale. Conducted among micro and small-to-medium enterprises, the research outlines how Romanian entrepreneurs perceive the opportunities and challenges of transitioning to sustainable business models.
