The Republic of Moldova has a considerable technical potential for renewable energy sources. A goal set by our country is that, by 2030, the share of energy from renewable sources in the gross final energy consumption should be of 27%. By encouraging investments in renewable sources, the Republic of Moldova could reduce its dependence on imported energy resources while increasing the consumption of domestic energy resources. In order to meet these goals, it is necessary to approach and involve all actors in society, from individuals, households, economic agents, local and central public authorities in order to create viable energy communities to strengthen the energy sector in the Republic of Moldova as well as those in the European Union countries. This can only be achieved through the support provided by European partners. The participants in IPN’s public debate “Transforming the energy sector through European funding: concrete examples and lessons learned” discussed the challenges, opportunities and benefits obtained in this direction.

Leonid Boaghe, mayor of Sireti commune, Straseni district, spoke about the importance of conducting a screening of the energy sector in the locality in order to be able to clearly see what is the level of consumption of energy, water, gas, etc. Thus, according to the mayor, this process is carried out through an energy management information system – EMIS - that allows the collection, storage and analysis of energy and water consumption data of public buildings in the Republic of Moldova.

“In order to have a clear situation in terms of energy, we surely need to collect particular data. In Sireți, we did this building management, at a few public buildings we also tried to conduct an audit: we collected the annual consumption, to see exactly how much gas, electricity, water was consumed, how large the expenses for sewerage at all the public buildings on the territory of the village of Sireți are. Now we have seven public buildings, in addition to the high school, which is owned by the mayor’s office and is managed by the District Council, implicitly the Ministry of Education. But we have already done this in the third year, since we implemented the EMIS energy management information system,” said Leonid Boaghe.

The mayor of Sireti noted that such an x-ray of the village’s energy situation contributes to the subsequent efficiency of expenses and reduces the vulnerability as regards dependence on energy imports. The feasibility studies carried out at the public institutions in the village were possible thanks to the European partners that contribute essentially, at the initial stage, to an exact clarification of the state of affairs. “In the context in which we find ourselves, the context of the war in Ukraine, the context of the refugee crisis, the energy crisis and dependence on energy sources. At the local level. there are many ideas. We also have ideas that can be implemented both nationally and regionally, but, as long as we are at the mayor’s office, we have to do our job at our workplace. We have tried to do many things at the local level, to move towards this green transition, towards this renewable energy. We have obtained, in recent years, certain successes. Obviously, local screening is necessary to understand how many buildings we have, how much energy is consumed, whether it is gas or electricity. We must first make an assessment to understand what consumption we actually have to work with and what consumption must be gradually reduced. Certainly, this would mean in general terms to ensure the energy management of the public buildings we have. Gradually, we collected a lot of data to understand which direction to follow and in which direction we need to take action. For example, at the local kindergarten, we implemented energy efficiency through the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). Also, another part of the photovoltaic panels was financed by the Small Grants Program of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), supported by UNDP Moldova,” stated Leonid Boaghe.

Dorina Onici, an entrepreneur from the village of Tudora, Stefan Voda district, believes that any crisis must be turned into an opportunity. That is why, on the territory of the guesthouse she owns, the first house in the Republic of Moldova made of industrial hemp is being built. The construction works are supported by Belgium.

“The pandemic crisis made us open the guesthouse. The refugee crisis made us known all over the world because many people visited us and stayed with us. The energy crisis made us establish contacts with the public association Rural Renaissance, which guided us from the beginning, starting with the arrangement of the solar panels and later with the construction of the hemp house. The support came from the Austrian and Swedish partners. Thanks to the financial support provided by them, we were able to install the solar batteries and reduce the price of bills,” stated Dorina Onici.

The owner of the guesthouse also said that this is the only way things are done in order to have sustainability over time, and this experience is necessary not only for particular people or institutions, but for all citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The renewable energy projects carried out by Dorina Onici are supported by Austria and Sweden, but in the building of the hemp house they are guided by experts from Belgium. “We must realize that alternative energy is not a fad, it must be diversified and we must all walk this wave and we must make the most of the ideas and possibilities that are granted to us in this context,” said the entrepreneur, noting that they really didn’t have knowledge in this regard and studied a lot, but they learned in time and now see the beneficial and great impact.

Dinu Bubulici, the owner of an energy-efficient house, said that he built his house in 2019. He was a novice in this field and at that time the energy efficiency trends were not fashionable. “Practically nothing was known about efficiency, photovoltaics. Somehow I was a promoter of this idea. I was in charge of importing these photovoltaic panels on my own. I personally brought them from China. We passed all the clearance procedures. At home I implemented technologies such as heat pumps. I was very involved in their engineering. In my case, the heating system is through the floor and the thermal agent, the water, circulates there, then the heat pump takes the energy from outside and transforms it into thermal energy. It heats the water that circulates through the floor. Thus, the whole house is heated,” stated Dinu Bubulici.

The young man also said that in order to have a significant share of renewable energy, the Republic of Moldova still has to work in this regard as, for now, it is hard to take certain people out of their comfort zone to switch to alternative energy. However, both individuals and legal entities must also be aware of the fact that the EU development partners offer more and more possibilities to develop renewable energy. 

“Innovative ideas or impressive energy efficiency projects require not only investment, but also a very strong ambition. Somehow, it’s very sad to say, but we have benefited from this energy crisis and we have started to move on a bit. I am very optimistic and I believe that in 15-20 years we will have a very good, significant share of renewable energy. There are now many more opportunities thanks to European projects, which can contribute to energy sustainability,” noted Dinu Bubulici.

The public debate entitled “Transforming the energy sector through European funding. Concrete examples and lessons learned” was the second installment of the project “Benefits of the Republic of Moldova’s accession to the EU for people, community and country”, supported by the Soros Foundation Moldova. The content of this debate does not represent the official position of the Soros Foundation Moldova.