ENGIE extends the gas network but also targets 1,000 MW in green projects. Thus, ENGIE will continue to invest in the maintenance and modernization of the gas distribution system, where it operates 22,600 km of network. At the same time, the company aims to reach 1,000 MW installed in RES by 2030, says Nicolas Richard, CEO, ENGIE Romania.
What does ENGIE’s strategy in Romania look like in the broader context of the group’s global positioning?
The ENGIE Group has a global development strategy that stems from its ambition to accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy by 2045. Thus, the local development strategy also contributes to achieving this ambitious goal.
At ENGIE Romania, we focus our investments on three axes: the development of renewable energy production capacities, accompanying customers in the decarbonization process by developing and offering energy solutions, as well as modernizing and expanding the gas distribution system. Equally, we are preparing to develop green gas by leveraging existing infrastructure and adapting it for this transition.
ENGIE will continue to invest in the maintenance and modernization of the gas distribution system, where it operates 22,600 km of networks. Since privatization, ENGIE has expanded the network by 8,000 km, investing 1.021 billion euros in this direction alone. Only in 2022, a budget of around 555 million lei was allocated to this objective.
The central point of the investment strategy also continued to be the development of renewable energy production capacities, so necessary to achieve the energy transition, with the ENGIE Group aiming to put into operation, annually, 4 GW of green energies, at world level. Currently, ENGIE Romania has an installed wind and solar energy capacity of 121 MW, which places the company in 6th place among the top players on the local market. Our ambition is to continue developing this capacity and reach 1,000 MW installed by 2030.
Another area of interest for the company is the implementation of decentralized renewable energy production solutions for customers. We have noticed an increase in customer appetite for this type of solution determined by two reasons: one of a pragmatic order, being an optimal solution to mitigate the price increases experienced by conventional energy and another to contribute to decarbonization, a topic that increasingly present in all fields.
What are the most important goals achieved during last year?
Generating electricity by installing photovoltaic panels is also a solution that more and more customers are resorting to, whether we are talking about companies or household customers. The benefits of this solution are both economic and from the perspective of reducing CO2 emissions. In order for the energy autonomy of customers to become an alternative, investments in the electricity transmission and distribution network are needed to enable the connection of potential users.
One of the remarkable projects that the company has in its portfolio is the partnership with Saint-Gobain Romania for the construction of the largest photovoltaic park on an industrial site in Romania, located on the land of the glass factory in Călărași. This is another important step towards strengthening our expertise in providing green energy solutions, customized for our customers’ needs. At the same time, in the dynamic and volatile context of the energy market, the production of electricity from renewable sources on our client’s site is a sustainable solution that offers predictability of costs and, at the same time, a significant reduction of the carbon footprint.
ENGIE Romania realized a turnkey project for Saint Gobain, from design, installation, operation, to financing. The photovoltaic park has an installed capacity of 8.6 MWp and is built from 15,760 modules of bifacial photovoltaic panels, a state-of-the-art solar energy capture technology that provides better energy yield and more efficient use of surface area. The panels and 80 inverters and strings are supported by a metallic tracker structure that follows the position of the sun, thus improving the performance of the installation.
The photovoltaic park will bring two major benefits to the Saint-Gobain glass factory and to the environment. First, it will provide approximately 20% of the plant’s electricity needs, which will lead to a significant reduction in energy costs and increase the plant’s competitiveness. Secondly, by using solar energy, emissions of more than 2,400 tons of CO2 per year will be avoided, thus contributing to protecting the environment and reducing the impact on climate change.
The amount of green energy produced is estimated at over 14,000 MWh/year and will be used exclusively for self-consumption.
In the context of the reconfiguration of traditional energy purchase models, ENGIE Romania supports its customers by offering them predictable solutions for the purchase of electricity from renewable sources, which are also beneficial for protecting the environment. From the series of important projects implemented in 2023, I also mention the signing of the vPPA (virtual Power Purchase Agreement) contract between ENGIE Romania and the companies part of the Orange Romania Group, which consists in the virtual purchase of long-term renewable energy.
Through this contract, signed for a period of 6 years, Orange, in Romania, will cover 30 GWh of its annual electricity needs with green energy from solar technology. In this way, we support the Orange companies in Romania in the process of decarbonizing their activity and progressively reaching the goal of neutrality of carbon emissions, one that also guides ENGIE’s activity. The vPPA type contracts, such as the one signed between ENGIE Romania and Orange, are an example of our group’s strategy to offer customers green electricity and provide them with predictability on energy costs, being a good example of how, in -a market with large price fluctuations such as that of energy, companies can ensure, through this type of contract, that they carry out an economically sustainable activity and from the perspective of environmental objectives.
vPPAs ensure predictability of energy costs in a highly volatile energy market. Thus, companies can ensure that they carry out an economically sustainable activity and from the perspective of environmental objectives.
Given that transport is one of the main sources of pollution in Romania, we focused our efforts on proposing our customers to adopt the alternative, complete and integrated ecological mobility solutions from the ENGIE portfolio. These include renewable electric charging stations for vehicles, consultancy, installation, maintenance and ongoing management of the necessary infrastructure, as well as digital activity monitoring.
What are the renewable energy projects owned by ENGIE?
An important strategic direction is the development of renewable energies, both globally where the ENGIE Group aims to put 4 GW of energy into operation annually, and locally. Currently, ENGIE Romania has a capacity of 121 MW of renewable energy in operation, aiming to reach 1,000 MW by 2030.
To support and achieve this strategic goal of developing renewable energies, there are projects under development, some of which will materialize in the coming years, to increase the potential for signing green power purchase agreements (PPAs) and supply of green energy in the ENGIE Romania portfolio.
The latest greenfield project developed by the ENGIE teams is the photovoltaic park in Gemenele, Brăila county. Located on a 14-hectare plot of land, next to the Gemenele wind farm that we put into operation at the beginning of 2013, the photovoltaic park will have an installed capacity of 9,316 MWp and will be built in the coming months. Upon completion of the construction site, the two parks will have the same connection points to the grid and will become one of the first hybrid plants from renewable sources in Romania. Each kWh produced by the new photovoltaic plant will reduce the CO2 level by 0.3-0.5 kg. Thus, the estimated annual CO2 saving amounts to approximately 3,900 tons.
ENGIE Romania owns, in Romania, two wind farms with a capacity of nearly 100 MW, in Brăila and Galați counties, and four photovoltaic farms, with a total installed capacity of nearly 24 MW, in the counties of Arad, Harghita, Buzău and Teleorman.
How does ENGIE respond to the national shortage of skilled labor to ensure continuity of the plumber profession?
In the context of a national shortage of qualified labor and out of the desire to ensure the continuity of the plumbing profession, ENGIE Romania launched, in 2018, its own professional education program in a dual system, “Energy for my job”, which aims the specialization of future workers in the distribution of natural gas and energy services. Schooling students in a dual education system, which combines theoretical and practical activity, gives them the opportunity to have a stable job in a prestigious company in the energy sector.
Thus, in 5 years since the beginning of this program, ENGIE has trained 215 students from Bucharest and from three other cities of the country, to obtain the qualification of technical-sanitary and gas installation installer, investing approximately 11,000,000 lei in this project. The first two generations of students have already obtained the certification, 114 of the 115 graduates are today employed in one of the Group’s branches. A new generation of approximately 50 students is preparing to be enrolled in the vocational education program for the 2023-2024 school year.
Students who opt for the vocational education program in the dual system “Energy for my job” have multiple financial advantages, up to 1,050 lei per month. In addition to the monthly scholarship granted by the Romanian state, in the amount of 200 lei, ENGIE Romania offers: monthly scholarship in the amount of 500 lei; merit scholarship worth 200 lei, depending on school results, supplement of 150 lei to cover pre-urban transport expenses or semi-boarding accommodation, lunch for the entire duration of the internship, excellent working conditions practice, under the guidance of experienced mentors, technical-sanitary and gas installation installer certification, the opportunity to work in one of the company’s subsidiaries, Distrigaz Sud Rețele and ENGIE Servicii, at the end of the three years of studies.
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This interview first appeared in the printed edition of Energynomics Magazine, issued in December 2023.
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