Romania's government has given the green light for the construction of a 1.5-gigawatt solar panel factory, according to PV Magazine.
The factory, one of the three solar manufacturing projects approved under the Romanian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), will receive €32.92 million ($34.14 million) in state aid.
Together, they are expected to produce more than 1.7 gigawatts of solar cells and panels each year, PV Magazine said. SC Heliomit SRL is set to build the manufacturing facility in Bârlad, northeastern Romania.
In December, the Energy Ministry awarded contracts for the development of 1.5 GW of wind and solar power capacity as part of the country's first Contract for Difference auction. Of the 48 bids submitted, 21 were declared winners, per SeeNews. As PV Magazine explained, the Romanian authorities allocated 432 megawatts of solar photovoltaic (PV) power at an average price of €51 ($52.9) per megawatt-hour.
The tender is part of Romania's commitment to reach at least 2.5 GW of energy storage by the end of this year, 5 GW by 2026, and 8 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. On a wider scale, the European Union has set a target of more than 320 GW of newly installed solar PV capacity by 2025 and almost 600 GW by 2030.
Although solar power is not 100% clean — as the construction of panels requires mining for raw materials — nor stable due to its intermittency, it is one of the most environmentally friendly alternatives to burning dirty fuels. Once in operation, they generate electricity without releasing harmful planet-warming gases and can therefore help us achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
In the United States, an increasing number of people are installing solar panels to meet their own energy needs.
By incentivizing homeowners with tax credits, the Inflation Reduction Act has sparked a boom in domestic solar panel uptake. According to Solar Energy Industries Association, 15% of U.S. homes will have solar by 2030.
Back in Romania, the PV industry has welcomed the development of the solar panel factory.
"Big steps for solar in Romania!" solar design services company One Place Solar wrote in an Instagram post.
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For Tudor Mihaila, the founder of Heliomit, the project represents "a turning point" in reindustrializing Europe and Romania.
"We want Romania to stop being an importer and become a quality supplier for Europe," he told EnergÃa Estratégica España.
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