Alina Oprea • 18 May, 2023 at 9:30 AM
The company Ensys Renewable Solutions, through the Division dedicated to Residential Systems, carried out a study based on centralized data from 55,000 natural person customers, registered for the installation of photovoltaic systems both through government programs and through their own contribution. Most customers who install or intend to contract photovoltaic systems in the future are men - 77.65%, from urban areas - 69.92%, with an average age of 51 years. 2-7 years is the amortization period of a photovoltaic system, depending on the evolution of the electricity price and the adaptation of the consumption mode.
Moreover, RON35,000 (€7,000) is the average value of the implemented and ongoing projects. RON4,080 /year (€816 /year) is the average saving on electricity for a user of photovoltaic systems.
According to Ensys representatives, in 2023 there is an increase in customer interest in adopting photovoltaic solutions, especially due to the promotion of government programs such as Casa Verde and ElectricUP, but also programs from European funds such as PNRR and the future RePowerEU. Even in these conditions, the interest of beneficiaries who want to install photovoltaic systems in their own system, independent of government funding, is higher than in previous years.
According to official data, in the period 2019-2021, funds were allocated for over 55,000 photovoltaic systems, with a total power of at least 165MW, through the Casa Verde Photovoltaic program. Comparatively, the budget allocated in 2023 through the same project can cover around 87,500 projects in a single year.
"The good part is that more and more Romanians are thinking about installing photovoltaic systems for the production of electricity, especially after the energy bills increased last year. Government-funded programs have fueled demand and created very high expectations among potential beneficiaries waiting for the session to open and projects to be implemented. The less good part is that the Casa Verde program did not start as planned and the implementation of projects financed through this program will take longer than the authorities estimated. At the same time, from the data centralized by Ensys, it appears that more and more customers are choosing to finance their investment in photovoltaic systems from their own sources, to avoid delay in implementation and to no longer depend on government funding. For example, the delays in the Casa Verde 2021 program, a program that started by law in 2022, generate complicated situations for both suppliers and beneficiaries. Practically, this year the implementation deadlines of the projects contracted in the 2021 and 2023 editions through government programs will overlap, thus generating possible dissatisfaction among the beneficiaries", says Sebastian Crișan, interim CEO of Ensys.
The company installs photovoltaic systems with over 200 employees, grouped in teams distributed nationwide.
"The profile of customers benefiting from photovoltaic systems shows us how consumers adapt to the instability of energy prices. Basically, we are talking about mature, educated people who understand the need to reduce energy dependence as much as possible and to consume energy responsibly and sustainably. Most customers come from urban and suburban areas, live at home, and have a full understanding of how PV can help them achieve lower energy bills. Coupled with the fact that most of the clients want to become prosumers, we estimate that the savings that a beneficiary can make in a calendar year are RON2,887 (€577), with an investment amortization horizon of 2-7 years, depending on the fluctuation of the price of electricity and the adaptation of consumption", says the company representative.
The increase in the population's interest in photovoltaic systems and especially in acquiring prosumer status is also supported by ANRE's official data. In 2022 alone, the number of prosumers increased almost 3 times, from 14,000 in January to over 40,000 in December. Practically, today we can talk about holders of a capacity to produce electricity from renewable sources with a total installed power of 423 MW, representing approximately 2.25% of all installed power in Romania at this moment.
For the year 2023, estimates show that a number of approximately 70,000 Romanians will acquire the status of prosumer.