Kindergarten with extended program no. 34 became the first school unit in Brașov that not only consumes energy from the electricity grid, but also produces and delivers energy from renewable sources. Within the partnership between the Municipality and the Employers’ Organization of Renewable Energy Producers in Romania – PATRES, the installation works of the photovoltaic panel system, mounted on the roof of the kindergarten, which transforms this educational unit into a prosumer (individuals or legal entities that produce for their own consumption and inject the surplus into the network, for a fee, on the basis of a sale-purchase contract with their electricity supplier). This investment, worth 32,000 lei, was supported by PATRES member companies, and the project started at the Green Cities Forum.
“Brasov continues to implement investment projects aimed at the transition to an environmentally friendly city. If last week we announced that all the electricity we will consume in public buildings belonging to the municipality and in public lighting is renewable, today we come with new good news for Brasov residents: we have the first prosuming kindergarten, that is, the school produces, in large measure, electricity, and during peak periods, sells the surplus to the energy supplier, in our case Electrica Furnizare. It is the first completed project, with the support of PATRES. Next is the Ioan Meșotă National College, with funds from the local budget, where we will install an even stronger system, which will meet the needs of this educational unit, but which will be able to sell a larger quantity during the summer. Depending on the results obtained, we intend to extend this program to other schools, so as to consume renewable energy, but also reduce costs. We thank our partners from the PATRES Association for their support and we want the partnership to continue,” said Allen Coliban, the mayor of Brașov.
The photovoltaic panel system installed at Kindergarten no. 34 in Brașov is an investment made at the initiative and with the financing of the PATRES member companies – EDPR, Repom, Entera, Temad Energie and Greensun East Europe. The system includes: 16 photovoltaic panels of 375 Wp each, at a total installed of 6 kWp; support structure; a 5 kW inverter; smartmeter, protections and dashboard connections. The total cost of the investment is of RON 32,000.
“The implementation of this pilot project is proof that a municipality, school, kindergarten, can become a prosumer and produce green energy for its own consumption, the excess being delivered to the network, thus contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. The installed photovoltaic panel system will produce approximately 6.6 MWh annually, the self-consumption percentage being of over 70%, and will help reduce the annual energy costs by over 20%,” states Martin Moise, first vice-president of PATRES.
In September, during the Green Cities Forum, Mayor Allen Coliban signed the Covenant of Mayors, through which Brasov is committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 55% by 2030, and to achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
