Business Ideas in Romania

Long live the sun!…and the technologies that come with it

• Posted by Anca on August 8th, 2007 filed in Energy, Services

Opportunity: Growing market for the renewable energy solutions

The solutions for obtaining energy out of renewable sources were in the Romanian Science Fiction Area a couple of years ago. They were perceived as very expensive and inefficient solutions and three years ago it was easier to sell a Rainbow vacuum cleaner than a solar panel.

The general trend at the global level for controlling climate change effects encourage the development of renewable energy sector. The market is changing in Romania as well. Mainly because of the price rise for the primary energy sources and the existent infrastructure’s inefficiency. The star of the market is the “apartment/house central heating unit” based on gas.They are not renewable, it’s true, but it is just one step ahead the inefficient collective central heating based on one or two huge Large Combustion Plant that would supply the whole city (the only heating solutions for apartment blocks few years ago).The vendors are estimating a 10% increase of the sales for this year. The continuing rising demand for alternative heating solutions created favorable conditions for market entrance for a lot of companies that provide heating solutions. The competition is quite high and in order to survive they have to think of alternative products. The “solar panel” seems to be the favorite solution from the “next generation” category preferred both by the vendors and the buyers.

Some of the factors that are influencing the growth of the market would be:

• Romania’s commitment to the European Union to reach the target of 33% consume of renewable energy by 2010
• Continuous price raising to primary sources of energy on the global level
• Estimated depletion of Romania’s gas and oil reserves on the medium term (50 years)
• Initiatives of public authorities to educate the public by creating real examples of implementing renewable solutions (solar panels and heat pumps) in projects for building new social houses
• Existing system for encouraging the production of renewable energy : mandatory quotas for providers of energy to include renewable energy in the system combined with assignment of green certificates for the producers of renewable energy

The public authorities are in the process of elaboration of a legislative framework for encouraging the producers of renewable energy and the providers of renewable technologies.

I’ll come back later with some relevant examples. It will be funnier, I promise…