The Environmental Fund Agency (AFM), Ovidius University of Constanța, Cosvitec Est and DiFine PR will organize courses, workshops and podcasts about renewable energy to get as many citizens as possible to adopt new, sustainable energy consumption habits. These activities are part of the Green Energy for Everyone project, funded by Innovation Norway and launched on May 10 at a press conference.
The Green Energy for Everyone project has a value of 165,482 euros, is implemented between April 2023 and March 2024 and involves the organization of online courses, workshops, podcasts and a media campaign to provide information about renewable energy sources and the importance of their use . The project targets both the general public and representatives of state institutions, companies and NGOs interested in the environment.
The courses will take place online, free of charge, in September. The course will provide information about which are the energy alternatives supported by the state authorities, what are the beneficial effects of using green energy resources and what is the EU and Romanian legislation. The course can be accessed for free by any interested person, companies, authorities.
“Globally, we produce an enormous amount of electricity, mainly from the processing of fossil fuels and the transformation of nuclear energy. Through this project, we want to sound the alarm about the depletion of these natural resources and provide information about the possibility of using other sources of energy: solar, wind, hydroelectric, oceanic, geothermal, biomass and biofuels. We want this topic to become common for ordinary people as well, not just a topic on the agenda of Brussels leaders or environmental experts. We want people who are not energy specialists to know what financial and technical possibilities exist to create their own energy right at home. It is essential that we make this discussion a regular one especially in the context in which EU leaders have repeatedly proposed over the last 15 years to increase the level of energy from renewable sources, in March this year the Parliament and the Council of the European Union proposed that in 2030, approximately 42.5% of the EU’s energy should be renewable,” said Camelia Ionescu, director of Cosvitec Est, a research & professional training company and the coordinator of this project.
Romania’s transition to green energy through the purchase of solar panels, heat pumps, insulation products will mean the creation of a market of over 30 billion euros by 2040, according to an analysis carried out by the consulting company McKinsey & Company Romania and quoted by Agerpres.
“Romania is committed in the Integrated National Plan in the field of Energy and Climate Change 2021-2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43.9% by 2030 compared to 2005 values and to increase by 30.7% the global share of renewable energy in energy consumption. We hope that the project we are launching today will support at least a small part of this ambitious goal that Romania has proposed,” added Camelia Ionescu.
In Romania, at the beginning of this year there were 42,000 prosumers (individuals and companies that produce electricity from renewable sources for their own consumption), and at the end of the year their number could reach 100,000, according to ANRE data cited by Fülöp Lóránd Árpád during the conference.
“In recent years, we have trained over 1,000 young professionals to work in the field of sustainability. Our objectives are to train young professionals, educate the public on the environment, construction & energy and to design, implement and execute sustainable solutions,” said Claudiu Butacu, Co-Founder of the Bucharest Solar Decathlon Association – EFdeN.
“Romania has one of the highest potentials for solar energy in Europe, with an annual average of 1,600 hours of sunshine and an installed power of approximately 1 GW, according to recent studies. In addition, the Romanian government has recently adopted fiscal and support measures for the development of solar energy, such as the introduction of the green certificate system. Regarding wind energy, Romania holds a strong position in the European wind industry, with an installed capacity of over three GW. Also, Romania still has significant untapped potential for the development of offshore wind energy in the Black Sea. Hydro energy represents an important source of renewable energy in Romania, with an installed capacity of approximately 6 GW. Biomass is also another important resource for the production of renewable energy in Romania. It can be used in different forms, such as solid, liquid or gaseous biofuels, to produce heat and electricity,” said Andreea Damian, Head of Program Strategies Office, AFM.