The Republic of Moldova recently launched the biggest tender in recent years for the development of large renewable capacity, with an anticipated investment of around 200 million euros, and is entering a new stage of development after decades of under-funding of the energy sector, said Carolina Novac, State Secretary at the Energy Ministry.
“We are dealing with another historic process in the Republic of Moldova: the start of the tender for large renewable energy capacities. We estimate direct investment of about 200 million euros, it is the largest direct investment in recent years for our country,” Novac said at the conference “Regional approach: Chisinau 2025”, organised by Energynomics.
She noted that technical bids have already been opened and investor interest is high. In parallel, the Moldovan authorities are working actively with Romania, with a joint working group to be set up between the two energy ministries.
For the authorities in Chisinau, the energy transition is not just a response to crises or an obligation towards the European Union, but above all an economic growth strategy by attracting investment, creating jobs, stimulating innovation and increasing energy security.
The Republic of Moldova has been among the countries most affected by the energy crisis in recent years, mainly due to the lack of alternative options. This vulnerability has prompted the government to accelerate the development of the local energy sector. In the last five years, the installed renewable energy capacity has increased eight-fold and the consumption of green energy in electricity grids has increased five-fold.
“We have reached 650 MW of installed capacity. The target is to reach 1,050 MW by 2030 and 3,000 MW by 2050,” Novac said.
In addition, the national energy strategy also foresees the development of 500 MW of energy storage capacity by 2050. In addition to renewable energy production, the government is also focusing on reducing consumption, especially in the buildings sector, which accounts for almost 45% of total energy consumption. Four energy efficiency programs are already active and an energy efficiency fund for the residential sector has recently been launched, a sustainable mechanism to support the renovation of blocks and individual houses. In the near future, the Green House program will also be launched, aimed at improving energy efficiency in households through measures such as thermal insulation or the installation of solar panels.
Another important step is technological innovation, for which a special legislative framework called innovation sandboxes has been introduced. This system allows innovative technologies or services to be tested for five years under a flexible regulatory regime designed to stimulate new solutions to the market.
Despite progress, the authorities recognise that there are still bottlenecks in the tax system and regulations that are holding back the pace of development. One example is value-added tax: VAT on storage batteries is currently 20%, which contradicts the government’s desire to encourage their use.
“We need an adaptation of the fiscal and regulatory framework, including the development of new skills for the labour force in this sector,” Novac added.
The conference “Regional Approach Chisinau 2025” was organised by Energynomics with the support of our partners Elektra Renewable Support, Adrem Asset Management, Boglight Gaz Moldova, Siemens Energy, Simtel, SolaX Power, SolarToday.