The largest photovoltaic park in Romania and South-Eastern Europe, covering about 170 hectares, was inaugurated on Tuesday, October 31.
“Today we celebrate an important moment in the development of solar energy in our country. This impressive photovoltaic park not only helps us to meet today’s energy challenges, but also opens doors to a more sustainable and brighter future. The benefits of this inauguration are numerous and have a significant impact on Romania”, said Marius Negru, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Energy, at the inauguration event of the photovoltaic park built in Rătești, Argeș County.
The Executive Director of the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA), Andrei Manea, emphasized that the photovoltaic industry in our country is constantly developing.
“We’ve done some studies (…) where we estimate that by 2030 we will have around 45,000 colleagues in the PV industry alone, separate from what the wind industry can do. This is an average scenario in which we see 45,000 permanent employees in the PV industry, which from our point of view is a very important issue, we are working on this with various partners (…). We are no longer a new technology, we are no longer like 12-13 years ago when the first photovoltaic panels were installed”, said Andrei Manea.
Representatives of the companies that realized the investment also spoke about the project in Rătești and the prospects of renewable energy.
“We see how the renewable energy sector is developing in Romania (…) The Romanian market is a key market in South-Eastern Europe and is striving to reach the 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets,” said Bogdan Asanache, country manager of Econergy Balkan.
“In the last two years we have finalized the construction of the largest photovoltaic park not only in Romania, but in south-eastern Europe. It is (…) the beginning of a new era in Romanian energy”, said Favi Stelian, representative of Nofar Energy Romania.
The largest photovoltaic park in South-East Europe was inaugurated at the first Solar Open Day.
The park covers an area of about 170 hectares of land in the municipality of Rătești in Argeș County. The works started in 2022 and were completed 18 months later, in September 2023, with an investment of more than €100 million.
135,000 panels have been installed in the park, with a total installed capacity of 155 megawatts. The Rătești photovoltaic park could power 100,000 households.