Renewable energy, first place in Europe

With the liberalization of the electricity market in early 2021, Romania found itself at a crossroads in terms of renewable energy. Although there has been discussion at a European level about various renewable energy sources for many years, only recently has our country, so to speak, caught up with the trend. For this reason, there are still many Romanians who are not familiar with this concept. So, in the following lines, we aim to explain renewable energy in a way that everyone can understand. Let’s explore the renewable European future together.

Renewable energy: what does it mean for us?

In order to understand the concept of renewable energy, we must first talk about what the liberalization of the electricity market means, because the two things are closely related.

Energy market liberalization: a brief history

The process of liberalization of the energy market in Romania began at the end of the last century, with the help of European directives. However, since it is a difficult and complex process, in our country it took more than 20 years to complete it.

Before liberalization, a country received electricity and natural gas through the national distribution network. This also happens today, by the way. The problem, however, was that the same people in charge of distribution were also the main suppliers of these resources. As we can imagine, this generates some conflicts of interest. The situation offered network operators an unfair monopoly on the market. If before liberalization you were convinced that you were paying an absurd price for electricity, you really had no alternative. This is because there were no other independent suppliers.

Market liberalization, completed in Romania on 1 January 2021 (respectively 1 July 2020 for the natural gas market), sought to change this situation. The respective resources continue to circulate through the same distribution network. However, they are no longer distributed by the same people. Today on the Romanian market there are dozens of independent suppliers from which you, the consumer, have the opportunity to choose.

If you are not satisfied with the concluded contract, or if you do not like the price you pay for energy or the conditions imposed by the supplier, you can change it in a few simple steps. And this is how we get to renewable energy.

Free market suppliers and renewable energy sources

Through the changes brought by market liberalization, obviously, the offer has changed. This is how electricity suppliers from renewable sources entered the market. And this is an important step for our country, because as Bloomberg reportsrenewable energy was the main source of energy in Europe in 2020. It would be tempting to attribute this to concern for the planet, but there seems to be a much simpler truth at the heart of the problem. In fact, energy produced from fossil fuels is considerably more expensive. This, together with the environmental protection factor, has led more and more European energy suppliers to switch from fossil fuels to a renewable energy source.

Naturally, we must also take into account the ecological objectives that the European Union has set itself in the coming years. It must reduce its emissions by 55% (minimum) by 2030 (compared to 1990 figures). A strong increase in the popularity of renewable energy sources is therefore estimated in the next 10 years. And if we follow the trend of the last 10 years, we see that this change has already started a long time ago.

From the data, for example, it emerges that the production of wind and photovoltaic plants increased by 10% from 2019 to 2020. Over the same period, output from traditional coal-fired power plants fell by 20%.

Furthermore, this progressive transition from coal to renewable energy sources has reduced carbon intensity by 29% over the last five years. This transition has therefore reduced the greenhouse effect in the European sphere.

Renewable energy in Romania’s near future

At the national level, Romania pursues its goals of saving the planet and reducing its carbon footprint. As a country we need to achieve an energy share of 30.7% by 2030. Therefore, a lot of emphasis is placed on renewable energy and its suppliers are promoted nationwide.

According to existing new directives, starting from 2021, new private buildings will have to comply with certain deadlines, such as the nZEB (nearly zero Energy Burning) standard. In other words, every newly constructed private building must consume the least amount of energy possible. The aim of this action is to reduce consumption at a national level. In order to comply with this standard, the buildings concerned are practically obliged to use renewable energy sources. Only these can keep their consumption level so low.

Renewable energy: what can you do?

Energy produced from renewable sources, such as wind or photovoltaic systems, as well as geothermal energy, clearly has some obvious advantages. These benefits are good for both the planet and you, the everyday consumer.

What you can do is change supplier to one that offers you the renewable energy we have talked about so far. First of all, it is important to make an informed choice when changing supplier. This means knowing where the energy supplied comes from, as well as other technical details of the energy supply process.

Thanks to the liberalization of the market, today it is possible to search for a supplier among the dozens that currently exist in the country. You will be able to read up on the topic of renewable energy and then choose the one that best suits your needs.

Energy produced from fossil fuels is more expensive to supply. Therefore, it is very likely that this transition will be a visible financial improvement for you. Add to that the fact that you’re doing the planet a favor and we’d already say you’ve got a good deal. If we are to orient ourselves according to the statistics and studies mentioned above, Europe’s future is still green. So why not join the renewable energy trend in time?

Renewable energies in Restart Energy projects

At Restart Energy we pay particular attention to renewable energy sources. We want the future of energy to be green and within everyone’s reach. That’s why we are actively involved in projects that bring the creation of new sources of renewable energy production closer. A big step in this direction was taken by the investment of 30 million dollars for the development of a photovoltaic park in Salaj county. We want this photovoltaic park to produce green energy from 2022 and thus increase the benefits for our customers.

Green energy must be available and accessible to all consumers. This is why we have developed a project where we want to connect producers, suppliers and consumers in one place. We invite you to discover the project Restarting energy democracy, built with blockchain technologytransparent and accessible: https://platformared.ro. Let’s put energy at your fingertips.

Are you ready for the change? Come with us!