The negative prices have led to huge prices in the balancing market, which should be investigated by the authorities, but there is a stress on the system, and without large-scale storage, the large capacities foreseen in the PNIESC will be very difficult to achieve, because “we we will continue to encounter such scenarios”, said Martin Moise, first vice-president of Patres, during the Solar Energy Bucharest Summit. At the same time, the Government unjustifiably extends the capping scheme, as energy prices have fallen, urging large consumers not to conclude bilateral contracts (PPA), because “the state comes and compensates them.”
He told Energynomics that the market trend of the last few days with negative prices cannot be taken as a reference point for the future price evolution, and the mix with storage is the solution for the future.
In fact, most of the solutions presented at the Solar Energy Bucharest Summit include storage, and many new companies, especially from China, have decided to enter Romania to capitalize on the huge potential of the market.
Guo Haoran, CEO of Dahai Solar, claims that his company has a fairly large budget for business development in Romania. GoodWe, manufacturer of energy storage solutions and inverters listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, recently entered the Romanian market and is looking for partners and new employees. Kenderessy Robert, Regional Sales Manager Balkans Area at SolaX Power, represents another large company, present in 80 countries and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with 2,000 employees and 800 patents. He says the firm saw 100% growth in the inverter and storage segment, with 9.36GW of installed capacity and 2.6GW in batteries.
At the same time, Sungrow has the largest factory in the world, with a production of 300 GW per year, it will launch hybrid inverters with storage of over 40 kWh, says Cătălin Manea, Partner Success Manager Romania, Sungrow. The company will organize a presentation tour (roadshow) in four cities in Romania – Bucharest, Iasi, Cluj and Timișoara, he also said. The main problems for newcomers are the reputation of the already existing players in Romania, as well as the bureaucracy, he also said.
Geroge Achim, general manager of GTA Energy, says that the Huawei distributor is already in contact with hundreds of installers, with a turnover of around 6 million euros annually. “We make about 245 systems a day, with about 600 authorized installers. The cheapest option is not always the best option,” he said, explaining that the low price is starting to disappear as the only guide in signing contracts, as many prosumers have problems that even the established players are asked to solve later. “We stopped our human resources from convincing them… Later, they come to us to help them,” said Geroge Achim.
Also Mihai Burlacu, country manager of SKE Engineering, talked about hybrid systems with storage, increasing from 5 kWh to 7-14 kWh this year, as the volume of hybrid installations also increases. “We are also noticing a movement on the industrial storage side… We are noticing an ever-increasing demand,” said Mihai Burlacu.
At the same time, old companies in Romania form new partnerships, in order to withstand the competition. Vincenzo Moderno, Modvin CEO, former Enel director and present for 16 years in Romania, formed a partnership with Genertec, one of the largest conglomerates in China, to increase current turnover.
