The Environmental Fund administration managed to distribute to the population only 25% of the funds it had available for the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the period 2009-2021. An analysis by the ONG Bankwatch Romania raises an alarm signal regarding the administration’s ability to solve and financially support the requests regarding the installation of renewable heating and electricity production systems.
In the report, attention is drawn to the fact that the administration spent only 563 million euros of the total allocated sums of 3.3 billion euros in the period 2009-2022. Moreover, out of 140,000 applicants, individuals and public institutions, between 46,000-60,000 had their files approved by May 2022. If all the citizens who applied had received funding, then we could have replaced 5.5% of polluting energy , with a reduction of 477,000 tons of CO2.
“Romania needs a more efficient administration. We now need functional programs to promote local energy production and energy efficiency, especially since a reduction in the price of energy is more than necessary, and photovoltaic panels can be a lifeline for both the citizen and the state,” said Laura Nazare, coordinator of the energy transition campaign at Bankwatch Romania.
The main goal of these programs is to reduce carbon emissions and increase renewable energy capacity, but these indicators are not tracked by the administration.
According to the NGO’s calculations, if all 46,000 citizens had managed to install a 3 kw photovoltaic system, the energy produced by them would have replaced 1.8% of the energy produced from coal, the most polluting fuel, and would have saved 156,000 tons of carbon emissions. If all citizens who applied would had received funding, then we could have replaced 5.5% of polluting energy, with a reduction of 477,000 tonnes of CO2.
At the moment, however, it is not known how many of the citizens with approved files have managed to install their projects and settle the sums of money.
“We can only assume that those who have approved files have succeeded in installing their photovoltaic panels. But this is contradicted by the reality in the field, where many citizens complain that they have waited 2 years to benefit from their own energy,” added Laura Nazare.
The Bankwatch Association proposes a series of measures to streamline the implementation of AFM programs, including the establishment of effective mechanisms for measuring and reporting the performance of financing programs, increasing the level of transparency, allocating an amount in each program for hiring or contracting consultants to assist beneficiaries and changing the way of accessing available funding by granting funds in advance to beneficiaries and not just by settlement.
