Bogdan Tudorache

Although the Administration of the Environmental Fund (AFM) had to respond to new challenges during the pandemic, such as the abrupt transition to digitalization, it managed to operate at full speed to evaluate and implement the projects it carries out, even in these conditions, says Andreea Kohalmi Szabo, the new President of the institution. And the program dedicated to prosumers will benefit from a new session, with a new concept, this fall.

During the period when contact with the public was limited, AFM evaluated all the over 26,000 projects registered under the Green House Photovoltaic program and developed new funding guidelines for other programs. AFM also played an extremely important role in supporting the car industry during the pandemic, said Andreea Kohalmi Szabo, in an exclusive interview for energynomics.ro magazine.

“During the period when the contact with the public was limited, AFM evaluated all the over 26,000 projects registered within the Casa Verde Fotovoltaice program and elaborated new financing guides for other programs. With the end of the emergency situation, we resumed the on-site visits so as to speed up the payments within the large-scale programs that AFM carries out,” said Szabo.

“We are in the stage in which we are preparing to sign the first 500 contracts, but we still have some important steps to take. Starting from the numerous requests received from the beneficiaries and installers, we intend that, before signing the first contract, we regulate the possibility of financing a technical solution superior to the one identified almost a year ago. All changes will be considered in their interest, but it is normal for them to know them before signing a document that has a legal character. After signing the contracts, the beneficiaries will have eight months to purchase and install their photovoltaic panels,” she added.

“With a generous budget that remained unspent after the first registration session and extremely many beneficiaries who want to become prosumers, we will launch a new session of the program this fall. In the meantime, we are working on a radical change of guide and we are starting to change the concept. Starting from the experience of the first edition, I intend to promote major changes, which will lead to the simplification of the enrollment process in the program, to the reduction of the evaluation period of the projects and to the extension of the range of installers. I also invite all applicants who did not obtain funding in the first edition to reapply in the autumn.

As President of the Environment Fund Administration, I am committed to organizing extensive consultations with all actors involved – with beneficiaries, installers, but also with relevant NGOs before launching the funding guide. I am convinced that together we will succeed in making the second edition of the program a real success.”