It may come as a surprise to learn that during the 1970s and 80s, Romania was one of the world’s leading providers of photovoltaic technology, having installed approximately 860,000 square metres of photovoltaic cells. Though the quality of the cells was considered relatively low, at the time Romania boasted the third largest surface area of PV in the world…
In recent years, Romania has begun to re-establish itself as a major user of photovoltaic systems. The Covaci Solar Park – which is currently under construction on a 60 hectare plot of land to the north of the city of Timişoara – will be one of the world’s largest thin-film photovoltaic power plants. The park will upon completion, be a 35-megawatt system using state-of-the-art thin film technology, with. 480,000 modules are being employed – provided by US based PV manufacturer First Solar. The plant is expected to supply 35,000 MWh of electricity per year.
Smaller schemes are also underway elsewhere in the country; the Avram Iancu Solar Park, another thin-film photovoltaic power system, is being built on a five hectare plot of land near the Avram Iancu commune in Romania. The power plant, due for completion in 2012 will be a three megawatt solar power system using state-of-the-art thin film technology, and is expected to supply 2,000 MWh of electricity per year.
