AGERPRES News

Largest photovoltaic park in southeastern Europe, opens in Ratesti, Arges County

The largest photovoltaic park in Romania and southeastern Europe, stretching over approximately 170 hectares, was inaugurated on Tuesday in Ratesti, southern Arges County.

“The benefits of this inauguration are numerous and have a significant impact on Romania,” secretary of state in the Ministry of Energy, Marius Neagu said at the inauguration event.

“We did some studies (…) by which we estimate that in the horizon of 2030 we will have around 45,000 colleagues in the photovoltaic industry only, separately from what the wind industry can do. This is an average scenario in which we see 45,000 permanent employees in the photovoltaic industry, which, from our point of view, is a very important issue, we are working on this together with various partners (…). We are no longer a new technology, we are no longer like 12-13 years ago when the first photovoltaic panels were installed,” said the Executive Director of the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA), Andrei Manea.

The representatives of the companies that made the investment also spoke about the project in Ratesti and the prospects of renewable energy.

“We see how the renewable energy sector is developing in Romania. (…) The Romanian market is a key market in southeastern Europe and strives to achieve the 2030 targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” the country manager of Econergy Balkan, Bogdan Asanache, said.

“In the last two years we have completed the construction of the largest photovoltaic park not only in Romania, but in southeastern Europe. It is (…) the beginning of a new era in the energy in Romania,” the representative of Nofar Energy Romania, Favi Stelian, said in his turn.

The largest photovoltaic park in southeastern Europe was inaugurated during the first edition of Solar Open Day.

The park covers an area of approximately 170 hectares of land, within the built-up area of Ratesti commune in Arges County. The works started in 2022 and were completed after 18 months, in September 2023, the investment amounting to over 100 million euros.

135,000 panels were installed in the park, with a total installed power of 155 megawatts. The photovoltaic park in Ratesti could supply 100,000 households.