The Potential for Renewable Energy in Satu Mare County

Report 2024/5

Haakon Vennemo, Leif Grandum og Sarah Eidsmo

The Potential for Renewable Energy in Satu Mare County

Category	Reports
Sub-Categories	Power and energy Environment Climate change and the green transformation
Year	2024
Report Number	5
Author(s)	Haakon Vennemo Leif Grandum Sarah Eidsmo
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Report 202	4	/	05	|	For 	The Satu Mare Intercommunity Development Association	 	
 	
 	
 	
The Potential for Renewable Energy in Satu Mare County	 	
 
Haakon Vennemo, Leif D. Grandum, and Sarah Eidsmo

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D	ocument details	 	
Title	 	The Potential for Renewable Energy in Satu Mare County	 	
Report Number	 	202	4	/	05	 	
Author	 	Haakon Vennemo, Leif D. Grandum, and Sarah Eidsmo	 	
ISBN	 	978	-	82	-	8126	-	667	-	4	 	
Project Number	 	2022/346442	 	
Project title 	 	RENEWSM 	 	
Project Leader 	 	Haakon Vennemo	 	
Quality Controller 	 	Orvika Rosnes	 	
Commissioned by 	 	EEA	 and Norway Grants	 and 	The Satu Mare Intercommunity Development Association	 	
Date of completion 	 	January 	29	
th	
, 2024	 	
Source front page photo 	 	Generated by OpenAI’s DALL	-	E	 	
Availability 	 	Public	 	
Keywords	 	Power and Energy, Environment, 	Climate 	C	hange and the 	G	reen transition, 	Agriculture 	
and the 	F	ood 	S	ector	, 	Renewable Energy, 	Energy Security, Energy Efficiency	, 	Solar energy, 	
Agri	-	PV, 	Bioenergy, 	 	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
About us	 	
Vista Analys	e	 	is a social science consultancy with 	an	 	emphasis on economic research, policy analysis and advice, and 	
evaluations. We carry out projects to the highest professional standards, with independence and integrity. Our key 
thematic areas include climate change, energy, transport, urban planning and 	welfare issues.	 	
Our employees have high academic credentials and broad experience within consulting. When needed we utilise an 
extensive network of companies and resource persons nationally and internationally. The company is fully employee	-	
owned.

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Preface	 	
This report 	is a deliverable from	 the projec	t RENEWSM	, in which The 	Satu Mare Intercommunity Development Asso-	
ciation	 and Vista Analyse 	collaborate to increase knowledge and raise awareness on renewable energy in 	Satu Mare, 	
Romania. 	Specifically, the 	project aims to 	 	
•	 	Increase knowledge 	about	 	renewable energy, energy and energy efficiency for 50 representatives of re-	
gional/local public administration, NGOs, public institutions, universit	ies	;	 	
•	 	Raise awareness 	about	 	renewable energy, energy and energy efficiency 	among	 	2	 	000inhabitants of Satu Mare	: 	
1	 	000	 	pupils and 	1	 	000 	general public.	 	
The RENEWSM project is running from March 2023 through February 2024. 	Project activities include a campaign 	
directed at pupils and the general public, short	-	term training in Satu Mare, comprehensive training in Norway, and 	
a report on the potential for renewable energy in Satu Mare	 	(this report)	. 	The project RENEWSM is 	supported by a 	
grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants 2014	-	2021, in the frame	work	 	"Romanian En-	
ergy Program"	. T	he amount of the grant awarded is 138,000 Euros	.	 	
The EEA grants represent the contribution of the states of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to a greener, more 
competitive and more inclusive Europe. There are two major objectives: reducing economic and social disparities in 
Europe and strengthening bila	teral relations between donor states and the 15 EU states in Central and Eastern Eu-	
rope and the Balkans. The 3 donor states cooperate closely with the EU within the framework of the Agreement on 
the European Economic Area. Donor states provided 3.3 billion	 	Euros through grant schemes between 1994 and 	
2014. For the period 2014	-	2021, EEA Grants have a value of 1.55 billion Euros. More information on EEA Grants: 	
www.eeagrants.	ro	.	 	
This 	report	 	was initiated by desk studies on the potential for renewable energy technologies in Satu Mare, including 	
resource potential, policies and regulations, and financing options. A framework was developed for assessing renew-
able energy technologies. The framew	ork is reproduced in chapter 	2	 	below.	 	
During the short	-	term training in Satu Mare (September 2023) and the comprehensive training in Norway (October 	
2023) hypotheses and ideas were discussed with Satu Mare stakeholders. 	 	
Nicoleta 	Lasan and Paul D	a	ncu have been our main contact points 	in the development association, and we thank 	
them for fruitful discussions	 as well as comments to an earlier draft, which 	have improved the content of the report. 	 	
 
January29	
th	
, 	202	4	 	
Haakon Vennemo	 	
Partner and professor	 	
Vista Analyse AS

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Glossary	 	and abbreviations 	 	
Agri	-	PV	 	Agricultural photovoltaics which refers to the combination of agricultural production and solar PV pro-
duction on the same land. 	 	
Biomass	 	Organic mat	t	er	 used as fuel	.	 	
CCGT	 	Combined cycle gas turbine	.	 	
CDD	 	Cooling degree days	.	 	
CSP	 	Concentrated solar 	power	.	 	
DNI 	 	Direct normal irradiation	.	 	
EUR/MWh	 	Euros per mega	watt	-	hour.	 	
FLH	 	Full load hours: The number of hours a power plant is expected to operate within a year. For reference, 
one year has 8760 hours.	 	
GHG	 	Greenhouse gases. Gases in the 	atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect and warming of 	
the planet. Important anthropogenic GHGs are carbon dioxide	 (CO	2	)	, methane	 (CH	4	)	, and nitrous oxide	 	
(N	2	O)	, 	in addition to 	sulfur hexafluoride (SF	6	),	 hydrofluorcarbons (HFCs), 	and perfluorcarbons (PFCs).	 	
HDD	 	Heating degree days	.	 	
Solar i	rradiation	 	The 	power from solar radiation per unit area	. 	 	
kWh	 	Kilowatt	-	hour. 1 kWh is equal to 1 thousand Wh, i.e. the power consumption of one thousand watt for 	
one hour.	 	
kW	p	 	Short for 	kilowatt	-	peak. In terms of solar PV panels, it refers to the peak capacity of a panel, i.e. the 	
panel’s maximum capacity in an ideal setting. 1 kW	p	 means that a panel have a capacity to produce 1 kW 	
of power under ideal conditions. 	 	
LCOE	 	Levelized cost of electricity. It is a measure of the average cost of producing electricity over the lifetime 
of a technology, considering investment, maintenance, and operating costs.	 	
MWh	 	Megawatt	-	hour. 1 MWh is equal to 1	 000 kWh	, 	i.e. the power consumption of one 	thousand kilo	watt for 	
one hour.	 	
NO	2	 	Nitrogen dioxide	.	 	
PM	2.5	 	P	articulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns per cubic meter	.	 	
Prosumer	 	An individual that both produces and consumes.	 	
PV	 	Photovoltaic	.	 	
RES	 	Renewable energy sources.

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Contents	 	
Executive Summary	 ................................	................................	................................	................................	.....................	 8	 	
1	 	Useful background information	 ................................	................................	................................	.........................	 12	 	
1.1	 	Energy production and consumption in Romania	 	12	 	
1.2	 	Where are we going?	 	12	 	
1.2.1	 	The European Union	 	12	 	
1.2.2	 	Romania	 	13	 	
1.3	 	Why renewable energy in Satu Mare?	 	13	 	
1.3.1	 	Global warming	 	13	 	
1.3.2	 	Air pollution	 	15	 	
1.3.3	 	Energy security	 	15	 	
1.3.4	 	Costs are reduced	 	17	 	
2	 	What makes a good technology?	 ................................	................................	................................	......................	 18	 	
2.1	 	The physical resource potential	 	18	 	
2.2	 	Land availability	 	18	 	
2.3	 	Infrastructure and grid access	 	18	 	
2.4	 	Economics	 	19	 	
2.5	 	Environmental and social impact	 	19	 	
2.6	 	Technical knowledge	 	19	 	
2.7	 	Policy and regulatory environment	 	19	 	
2.8	 	Impact on energy security	 	20	 	
2.9	 	Summary and guidance for the next chapters	 	20	 	
3	 	Solar energy has good potential in Satu Mare	 	................................	................................	................................	..	 21	 	
3.1	 	Three important technologies for exploiting energy from the sun	 	21	 	
3.1.1	 	Solar photovoltaics (PV)	 	21	 	
3.1.2	 	Concentrated solar power (CSP)	 	22	 	
3.1.3	 	Solar	 	heating	 	22	 	
3.2	 	Resource potential	 	23	 	
3.3	 	Land availability	 	26	 	
3.4	 	Agri	-	PV	 	27	 	
3.5	 	The economics of solar PV	 	28	 	
3.6	 	Other issues	 	29	 	
4	 	Significant biomass resources in Satu Mare	 ................................	................................	................................	......	 31	 	
4.1	 	Different ways of producing biogas from biomass	 	31	 	
4.2	 	Biogas can be made from several types of feedstock	 	32	 	
4.2.1	 	The agriculture sector in Satu Mare can provide feedstock for biogas production.	 	33	 	
4.2.2	 	Untapped potential in municipal waste collection	 	34	 	
4.3	 	Costs are competitive	 	34	 	
4.4	 	Land availability and other factors	 	35	 	
4.5	 	Best practice example of biogas in Norway	 	36	 	
4.5.1	 	Veas Wastewater treatment plant outside Oslo	 	36	 	
4.5.2	 	Romerike biogas plant 	–	 	utilizing food waste	 	37

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5	 	Geothermal energy	 ................................	................................	................................	................................	............	 39	 	
5.1	 	Different 	technologies at different temperatures	 	39	 	
5.2	 	Geothermal resource potential	 	40	 	
5.3	 	Some obstacles for geothermal energy	 	41	 	
6	 	Other potential renewable energy sources	 ................................	................................	................................	.......	 42	 	
6.1	 	Wind	 	42	 	
6.2	 	Hydropower	 	44	 	
7	 	Energy efficiency 	–	 	helping the transition to renewables	 ................................	................................	.................	 45	 	
7.1	 	What do we mean by energy efficiency?	 	45	 	
7.2	 	Energy Efficiency First	 	45	 	
7.3	 	Some technologies to improve energy	-	efficiency	 	46	 	
7.4	 	Best practice examples	 	50	 	
7.4.1	 	The Bellona house 	–	 	Norway’s first A	-	class office building	 	50	 	
7.4.2	 	Deichmann Bjørvika Library	 	52	 	
References	 ................................	................................	................................	................................	................................	.	 53	 	
 
Figur	e	s	 	
Figure S.1	 	 	Photovoltaic	 	power potential in Romania ………….……….………….………….………….………….…………	……	…	 	8	 	
Figure S.2	 	 	Crop production in Satu Mare in 2022 ………….………….………….………….………….………….…………	………… 9	 	
Figure S.3	 	 	Heating degree days (HDD) and cooling degree days (CDD) in 2022 ………….………….………	…………	…	10	 	
Figure 1.1	 	Share of renewable energy sources in electricity production	 	................................	.........................	 12	 	
Figure 1.2	 	Global mean temperature is increasing	 ................................	................................	............................	 14	 	
Figure 1.3	 	Projected heat stress for people, 2040	-	2060	 ................................	................................	...................	 15	 	
Figure 1.4	 	Cross	-	border physical electricity imports (positive) and exports (negative)	 ................................	...	 16	 	
Figure 1.5	 	Electricity production from wind (left 	panel) and solar (right panel) in Romania, 2022	 .................	 16	 	
Figure 1.6	 	Global average levelized costs of selected renewable energy sources	 ................................	...........	 17	 	
Figure 3.1	 	Illustration of common types of CSP technologies	 ................................	................................	...........	 22	 	
Figure 3.2	 	Photovoltaic power potential in Europe	 ................................	................................	...........................	 23	 	
Figure 3.3	 	Photovoltaic power potential in Romania.	 ................................	................................	.......................	 24	 	
Figure 3.4	 	Estimated average monthly power production from a 1kW	p	 	panel in Satu Mare	 ..........................	 25	 	
Figure 3.5	 	Direct normal irradiation in Romania	 ................................	................................	...............................	 26	 	
Figure 3.6	 	Land cover classification in Satu Mare	 ................................	................................	..............................	 27	 	
Figure 3.7	 	Natura 2000 sites in Satu Mare	 	................................	................................	................................	........	 27	 	
Figure 3.8	 	Levelized cost of electricity of solar PV	 ................................	................................	.............................	 28	 	
Figure 4.1	 	Crop production in Satu Mare in 2022	 ................................	................................	.............................	 33	 	
Figure 4.2	 	Total live weight of livestock for slaughter in Satu Mare in 2022	 ................................	....................	 34	 	
Figure 4.3	 	Levelized cost of electricity production from gas power plants.	 ................................	.....................	 35	 	
Figure 4.4	 	A can of beer produced using CO	2	 	collected at the wastewater treatment plant Veas	 ..................	 37	 	
Figure 4.5	 	Household separate waste in three containers	 ................................	................................	................	 38	 	
Figure 4.6	 	Green bags for food waste	 ................................	................................	................................	................	 38	 	
Figure 5.1	 	Geothermal reservoirs in Romania	 ................................	................................	................................	...	 40	 	
Figure 5.2	 	Map of regions with potential to host high temperature and high	-	pressure geothermal 	
reservoirs.	 ................................	................................	................................	................................	..........	 41	 	
Figure 6.1	 	Mean wind speed in Europe	 ................................	................................	................................	.............	 43

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Figure 6.2	 	Public net electricity production in Romania in 2022	 ................................	................................	......	 44	 	
Figure 7.1	 	Heating	-	degree	-	days (HDD) and cooling	-	degree	-	days (CDD) in 2022	 ................................	.............	 46	 	
Figure 7.2	 	Illustrative example of passive solar design	 ................................	................................	......................	 49	 	
Figure 7.3	 	Deichman Bjørvika Library	 	................................	................................	................................	................	 51	 	
Figure 7.4	 	Bee	-	hive shaped ceiling in Deichmann Bjørvika	 ................................	................................	...............	 52	 	
Figure 7.5	 	Ventilation channels inside the floors	 	................................	................................	..............................	 52

The Potential for Renewable Energy in Satu Mare County	 	
 	
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Executive Summary	 	
We survey the potential for renewable energy 	pro	duction 	and energy efficiency 	improvements 	in 	
Satu Mare	 	County	, Romania. 	S	olar PV	 	and 	biogas 	are two promising 	technologies for renewable 	
energy production	. In addition	, we believe there is 	potential for	 energy 	efficiency improvements. 	 	
Like	 	the rest of E	urope, Satu Mare is 	facing	 	a green transition	 	
Satu Mare is a c	ounty 	of 	4,418 km	
2	
in the north	-	west	ern	 	corner of Romania. It borders Hungary 	
to the 	west	 	and Ukraine to the 	north. 	The	 	county has 330,000 inhabitants, 	of which 9	0,000 live 	
in the county capital, Satu Mare. 	 	
Satu Mare county 	is 	preparing for	 a green transition 	as 	Europe 	strives	 to become net	 carbon neu-	
tral	. 	Carbon neutrality requires 	new renewable energy sources in	combination with 	improved en-	
ergy efficiency. This report	 discusses the potential for renewable energy production in Satu Mare 	
county. 	 	
Solar 	energy	, biogas and energy 	efficiency seem the most prom-	
ising	 	solutions	 	
Compared to the rest of Europe, Satu Mare has 	ample sunshine and	significant 	biomass 	resources	. 	
By contrast, 	wind resources are 	low	and 	hydro resources are 	very low. 	The 	potential for 	energy 	
efficiency improvements	, particularly related to the building stock, 	may be substantial but should 	
be investigated	 	further	. 	 	
Significant potential 	for 	solar 	energy	 	
There are basically three 	technologies for 	exploiting energy from the sun	:	solar photovoltaics	 (PV)	, 	
solar 	heating and conc	en	trated s	olar power	. Concentrated solar power requires 	fairly intense 	
sunlight, more than 1900 kWh/m	
2	
, while 	Satu Mare receives less than 1400 kWh/m	
2	
. 	Hence, a	t-	
tention should 	be 	focus	ed	 	on the two other technologies. 	 	
Solar maps show that the potential for solar 	photovoltaics and solar heating is good in the whole 	
of Romania	. 	Figure S.1	 	show	s	 	the power potential 	per installed peak	 	capacity	 	of solar PV	, where 	
areas 	colored yellow	 	and 	red 	indicate good potential	.	Conditions may be the best in southern 	
parts of the country, but Satu Mare has better potential than, e.g., Germany. 	Sola	r PV suppl	ies	 10 	
percent of Germany’s electricity	,	 	and 	we believe a similar result, or better, can be achieved i	n 	
Satu Mare and Romania	, where cu	rrent	ly solar PV 	contribute	s	 	only 3 percent 	of 	electricity pro-	
duction	.	 	Similarly, solar heating 	of water and air offers 	an attractive substitute 	to	 	electricity used 	
for heating in 	buildings	. Solar heating is a simple, but reliable technology that can contribute to 	
the overall objectives of increased renewable energy sources and energy security. 	 	
Solar energy has 	very few	 	environmental 	issues 	–	 	there is no pollution, no 	noise, no 	danger for 	
birds. 	Solar heaters and panels can be put on rooftops with minimal disturbance. So	-	called agri	-	
PV systems	 	are situated 	above ground 	in agricultural fields, providing shade for plants	. 	The

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economics depend on the amount of solar resources, but 	our calculations indicate a 	levelized cost 	
of electricity (LCOE) at between 31.2 and 41.6 	EUR/MWh	, which is quite competitive. 	A	dding a 	
battery to a rooftop PV installation 	may 	increases the cost 	by up to 	140 	EUR/MWh	,but gives 	ben-	
efits in the form of convenience. 	 	
A problem for 	large	-	scale 	solar energy in Satu Mare is the lack of 	electricity 	grid infrastructure. In 	
a survey 	Solar Power Europe found that Romania received a low assessment along the dimensions 	
of grid planning and grid connection	(Solar Power Europe, 2022a)	.	 	
Figure S.	1	 	Photovoltai	c	 	power potential in Romania	 	
 	
Source:	 	The World Bank 	(2020)	. 	
Significant	 	potential 	for 	bio	energy	 	
Bioenergy refers to a family of technologies that use biomass to produce heat or electricity. 	For 	
instance, b	iomass can be	processed into e.g., pellets and 	used (	burned	) for heat and electricity	, or 	
converted to biogas	. 	Biogas may be upgraded to biomethane. 	Biomass can also be converted to 	
liquid form. 	 	
B	iogas 	and biomethane are	 	interesting possibilit	ies	 	for Satu Mare. 	Agricultural residues, animal 	
manure, municipal solid waste and wastewater sludge are sources of 	biogas. 	Most of the land 	
area in Satu 	Mare i	s used	 	for agricultural purposes. 	Figure 	S.2	 	shows crop production in 2022. 	
Cereals are coloured 	dark 	blue, green fodder is shown in 	blue	, and oil crops are shown in 	light 	
blue	. Maize, wheat and rye are the most common cereals, while sunflower seeds, rapeseed and

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soy	a	 	beans make up the oil crops. These crops are mainly grown for human consumption, but 	
residues may be used for bioenergy. 	 	
Figure S.	2	 	Crop production in Satu Mare in 2022	 	
 	
Source:	 	INSSE.	 	
Satu Mare has significant amounts of livestock as well. 	Total live weight of pigs for slaughter in 	
2022 amounted to 13	 	000 tons, and 12	 	000 tons of poultry (	see chapter 	4.2	)	. 	 	
In terms of cost, international data indicate 	that 	biogas and biomethane electric plants have 	a 	
cost 	comparable to 	combined cycle 	(	natural	)	 gas turbines (CCGT)	:	80	–	350 	EUR/MWh	 (	see chapter 	
4.3	)	. 	While these figures 	for resource potential and cost 	are suggestive, 	a more 	detailed resource 	
and cost assessment 	should	 	be made	 	for Satu Mare. 	 	
Energy efficiency will 	help the transition to renewables	 	
While not a	 	renewable e	nergy source, energy efficiency improvements will help Romania and 	
Satu Mare obtain goals for the share of renewable energy in the total mix	. 	That is why the EU 	has 	
established the 	Energy Efficiency First principle	 	and set goals for 	e	nergy efficiency improvements	 	
alongside goals for net carbon neutrality. 	The Casa Eficienta Energ	etic program in Romania sup-	
ports the up	grading of energy efficiency 	by one 	energy 	class 	in single	-	family homes. 	 	
An important source of energy demand in buildings is heating and cooling. 	Figure S.3	shows the 	
need for heating and cooling i	n Satu Mare, Romania, the EU and Norway	 as measured by heating 	
degree days	 	(HDD)	 	and cooling degree days	 	(CDD)	.	The HDD and CDD	 	are 	weather	-	based 	indices 	
that describe the 	need for 	heating and cooling 	of	buildings	, respectively	. 	For instance, o	ne day 	of 	
15 degrees below the base	 	temperature	 	gives a HDD of 15. 	 	
The figure shows that Satu Mare experience 	a HDD	-	value of 	close to 3	 	000	 anda CDD	-	value of 	140	 	
per	 	year. 	This fact requires buildings to be able to stor	e heat when cold and remain cool when 	
hot.

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Heat pumps	, while common in parts of Satu Mare, come in	 	different efficiencies	, sizes and com-	
binations of 	media (air, water, ground) for delivery and reception of heat. 	The expansion of heat 	
pumps is an important 	energ	y	 	efficiency 	measure in the REPowerEU plan. The technology is ma-	
ture and could be implemented quickly. Support for 	heat pumps is included in the 	Casa Eficienta 	
Energetic program	. 	Good 	insulation	 	is a second approach, e.g., targeting windows.	Even though 	
windows might make up only 5	-	10 	percent	 	of a building’s outside surface, they can contribute 	
about 40 	percent	 of the building’s heat loss in cold weather. 	Solar heating	, 	exposing air or a fluid 	
to the sun, is 	often mentioned in relation to energy efficiency since it reduc	es electricity and gas 	
demand. 	The hot air or fluid can be used to heat the inside of a building directly or it can be 	
connected to a heat exchanger and water tank for storage. 	P	assive solar	refers to clever building 	
design that 	exploits 	sunshine and natural warmth. 	Mindful planning is a key to passive solar, e.g.	, 	
lar	ge windows facing south, but with an extended roof to provide shade during summer, 	and 	
selecting building materials with 	high	 	thermal mass	. 	To aid energy efficiency it 	is useful	 	to install 	
monitoring and management systems	, ranging from simple thermometers to 	thermal cameras 	
and 	continuous monitoring through an 	app. 	In modern dwellings and commercial buildings	,	 	the 	
system of v	entilation is quite important as well. 	 	
The potential and applicability of these technologies in Satu Mare should be further investigated. 	 	
 
 
 	 	
Figure S.	3	 	Heatingdegreedays (HDD) and coolingdegreedays (CDD) in 	2022	 	
 	
Source:	 	Eurostat

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1	 	Useful b	ackground	information	 	
This 	chapter 	provide	s	 useful background information 	for	 the chapters to come. We first 	take sto	ck 	
and	 briefly	 inform about renewable energy in Romania today	, and 	the 	political goals and commit-	
ments 	to	 renewable energy in Romania and the EU. 	Then we discuss the motivation for the study	. 	
The motivation is the challenge facing Satu Mare, Romania, and the world in reducing 	global 	
warming	, 	reducing environmental impacts	, and 	in	creasing energy security	.	Renewable energy 	
sources may provide solutions	 	to these challenges	. 	 	
1.1	 	Energy production and consumption in Romania	 	
Romania has a higher share of renewable energy sources in its 	electricity	 	mix than its neighbour-	
ing countries, and higher than the EU	-	27 (	Figure 	1	.	1	).The total renewable energy share in elec-	
tricity production 	was	 	43 percent	 	in 2021	. 	 	
Figure 	1	.	1	 	Share of renewable e	nergy sources in electricity production	 	
 	
Source: 	Eurostat	 	
Hydropower is by far the largest renewable energy source in Romania, making up 	28	 	percent of 	
all 	production	 	in 2022	, followed by wind at 12 percent (see chapter	6	). Solar PV is just 3 percent 	
and bioenergy 1 percent. In chapter 	3	 	and 	4	we argue that there is potential for additional solar	-	 	
and bioenergy	, respectively	. 	 	
1.2	 	Where are we going?	 	
1.2.1	 	The European Union	 	
As 	a	 member 	of the EU, 	Romania is	 bound by EU’s goals and targets for GHG emission reduction, 	
which implies more renewable energy. 	 	
0102030405020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021PercentRomaniaEU27BulgariaHungary

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The EU	-	wide goal is to cut GHG emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990. There 	
is also a separate goal for renewable energy: 42.5 percent of energy production should be renew-
able by 2030 	(EU Directive 2023/2413 )	. Note that the energy target refers to the share in 	energy	, 	
not electricity. 	 	
To support and supplement the GHG target, the EU directive on energy efficiency calls for a re-
duction of 11.7 percent in final energy consumption by 2030 compared to “business as usual” 
(EU Directive 2023/1791)	. In practice EU countries are required to achieve an average energy 	
savings rate of about 1.5 percent annually between 2024 and 2030. 	 	
In the longer term	,	 the EU goal is net climate neutrality by 2050. In 	effect	 this means that by 2050 	
all energy production should be renewable or using CCS. 	 	
1.2.2	 	Romania	 	
Romania’s National Energy Climate Plan 	(Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests, 2021)	 has 	
set a goal of 49 percent renewable energy in 	electricity	 	production in 2030, in other words an 	
increase of 6 percentage points compared to today. The goal for the share of renewable energy 
in 	energy	 	production is 30.7 percent. This figure is pulled down by lower shares in transportation 	
(14.2 percent renewables) and heating and cooling (33 percent). 	 	
To reach th	ese	 	goal	s	, and as a part of the Romanian National Resiliency and Recovery Plan, coal 	
and lignite will be phased out from electricity production by 2032. This entails replacing 	about 20	 	
percent of total production and is a huge opportunity for renewable energy technologies. Factor-
ing in some increase in total consumption, the goal is to develop 6.9 GW renewable energy by 
2030, compared to 2015. 	 	
1.3	 	Why renewable energy in Satu Mare	?	 	
There are several reasons why 	renewable energy is important for Satu Mare. Four important rea-	
sons are	:	 	
1.	 	Global warming	 	
2.	 	Air pollution	 	
3.	 	Energy security 	 	
4.	 	Economics	 	
We will 	discuss 	the	se reasons	 	in turn	.	 	
1.3.1	 	Global warming	 	
The backdrop of 	almost all energy planning these days is 	climate change	, and there is a global 	
effort to 	minimize global warming. 	Figure 	1	.	2	shows 	global mean temperature relative to the av-	
erage 	between 	1951	-	1980.	The 	dashed line shows the nine recent years	: t	hey have been the hot-	
test on record. 	The world is getting warmer. 	The 	most recent 	IPCC report 	(IPCC, 2023)	 	clearly 	
show	s	 	that global warming has started 	–	 	but also that it will accelerate in the decades to come. 	
This strongly suggests that each and every community should consider new renewable energy for 
the future.

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Figure 	1	.	2	 	Global mean temperature is increasing	 	
 	
Source:	 	GISTEMP 	–	 NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.	 	
The map belo	w	 (	Fi	gure 	1	.	3	) shows 	that Romania, Moldova and 	Bulgaria are particularly vulnerable 	
to heat stress in the decades to come.	The darker red colors in the map indicate regions 	that 	are	 	
likely to experience a higher number of heatwave days	and where the population is more vul	ner-	
able and exposed to this 	(IPCC, 2022)	. 	The panel on the 	right	 	show	s	the 	heat stress risk 	in the 	
scenario 	where 	the world’s 	CO	2	 	emissions 	are cut to net zero by 2075	 	(	the 	IPCC’s SSP1	-	2.6 sce-	
nario)	. The risk is even higher 	in the scenarios where we do not achieve this goal 	(IPCC, 2022)	.

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Fi	gure 	1	.	3	 	Projected 	heat stress for people	,	 	2040	-	2060	 	
 	
 	
Source	 	IPCC 	(2022)	, Chapter 13.	. 	
1.3.2	 	Air pollution	 	
Thermal power is a source of air pollution while wind and solar are not. 	Air pollution caused by 	
the “traditional pollutants” 	–	 particulate matter	 sma	ller than 2.5 microns per cubic meter 	(PM	2	.5	) 	
along with	nitrogen dioxide (	NO	2	) 	and ozone	 	(O	3	)	 	–	 	is still a serious problem in Europe. 	The Euro-	
pean Environment Agency p	ublishes estimates of 	annual premature deaths because of 	air pollu-	
tion. The current estimate for Romania is 	about 25	 	500	 	premature deaths per year	 	(	Table	1	.	1	). 	 	
Table	1	.	1	 	Premature 	deaths	due to 	air pollution (	PM	2	.5	, NO	2	, 	O	3	) in R	o	mania	 	in 2021	 	
PM	2.5	 	NO	2	 	O	3	 	
19 600	 	4 900	 	1 000	 	
Source: European Environmental Agency	 (2023)	 	
A p	remature death from air pollution does not mean that the death certificate says air pollution. 	
People die 	of 	heart attack, lung cancer	 	and 	similar	. Premature deaths from air pollution means 	
that 	there is a statistical association between these nominal causes of death and air pollution. 	
According to the 	European Environmental A	gency	(2023)	, 	no 	other country has more premature 	
deaths from air pollution than Romania.	 	
1.3.3	 	Energy security	 	
Following the 	strangling	 	of natural gas supplies to Europe in 2022	,	energy security has climbed 	
higher on the policy agenda. 	In recent years 	Romania 	has	 mov	ed	 from a net export	er	of electricity

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to a ne	t import	er	. 	Figure 	1	.	4	 	shows that in 2019	-	2022 imports from 	abroad	 	were higher than 	
exports. If this continues	,	 	Romania 	may	 	be put in a vulnerable position with less energy security.	 	
Figure 	1	.	4	 	Cross	-	border physical e	lectricity 	imports (positive) and exports (negative)	 	
 	
Source: Energy	-	charts.in	fo (Entso	-	e). 2023 figures 	include data 	until August	 23	, 2023	. 	 	
To be sure, renewable energy has some 	security	-	related 	problems of its own. A major problem is 	
that renewable energy supply from 	wind and solar is volatile	. 	Figure 	1	.	5	 	show	s	electricity produc-	
tion in Romania from wind 	(left	 	panel	) and solar (right	 	panel	). The vertical axis show	s	 	the hours 	
of the day, while the horizontal axis show	s	 the days of the year. 	The colo	u	r red indicates days and 	
hours where production is high, while 	dark 	blue indicate	s	no production. 	 	
The wind electricity 	production 	pattern in the left panel shows that windy days are followed by 	
quiet days. But there is more	production (	red	)	 	to the left, in winter, and more	quiet (	blue	)	 	in the 	
middle, in summer. The solar electricity 	production 	pattern in the right panel shows production 	
during the day (obviously), but less so in winter. Peak production is in summer. 	 	
 
Figure 	1	.	5	 	Electricity production from w	ind (left panel) and solar (right panel) in Roma-	
nia	,	 	2022	 	
 	
Note: Red colour = high production. Blue colour = no or low production	 	
-8-6-4-202468201520162017201820192020202120222023TWhBulgariaHungaryMoldovaSerbiaUkraine

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These patterns suggest two things	.	 First, energy security is 	improved when wind and solar 	power 	
are 	combined: 	t	he additional solar in summer and additional wind in winter complement each 	
other. Second, 	volatility remains even when combining wind and solar. This means that for max-	
imum 	energy security one should combine wind and solar with either back	-	up 	production	, or 	
transfer from other parts of the country, or transfer from other countries (imports). Back	-	up 	pro-	
duction	 	could be bio	-	based or thermal. In the	 	future	,	 	storage technologies (batteries, h	ydrogen 	
storage etc	.	) will be developed, but large	-	scale storage is not commercial yet.	 	
1.3.4	 	Costs are 	reduced	 	
Cost is a traditional barrier to 	renewable energy	. However	,	 	costs are 	being reduced	. Globally	,	 	
cost	s of 	solar	 	photovoltaics	 	(PV)	 	and (onshore) wind 	are	 	currently competitive with fossil fuels, 	
following dramatic cost 	reductions	, not least for solar, 	since 2010	 	(	Figure 	1	.	6	).	 	
Of course, for Satu Mare it is the local cost and price of electricity that matters	. However	, these 	
global trends show that one should not plan for fossil fuels without seriously investigating the 
business case for renewable energy technologies. 	 	
 
Figure 	1	.	6	 	Global	average levelized 	cost	s	 	of 	selected renewable	 	energy sources	 	
 	
Source:	 	IRENA 	(2023)	.Note: Two data points: 2010 and 2022

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2	 	What makes a good technology?	 	
This chapter	 	presents a framework 	of indicators 	for policy makers 	and stakeholders in Satu Mare 	
as they 	develop ideas for 	investments in 	renewable energy	. 	It may 	guide planning 	at	Satu Mare	 	
county	 	level	, 	in	 	individual cities and towns, 	and	 	concrete investment projects and investments 	
into an	cillary services such as grid, 	resource logistics etc. 	 	
In short	,	 	the elements of the framework are	:	 	
1.	 	The physical 	resource potential	 	–	 	a necessary starting point	.	 	
2.	 	Land availability 	–	 	for siting of plants, and for 	land	-	intensive	 	physical resources	.	 	
3.	 	Infrastructure and grid access 	–	 	for 	moving resources in and electricity out	.	 	
4.	 	Economics 	–	to 	focus attention on low	-	cost alternatives	.	 	
5.	 	Environmental and social impact 	–	 	positive contribution 	is a	 	gain	 	to society	.	 	
6.	 	Technical knowledge 	–	 	successful 	implementation requires familiarity with the technology	.	 	
7.	 	Policy and regulatory environment 	–	 	price, support scheme etc. in 	the 	short and long run	.	 	
8.	 	Impact on energy security 	–	 	positive contribution is	a gain to society	.	 	
2.1	 	The physical resource potential	 	
Having the physical resources to produce energy is a necessary condition for any technology	. 	
Resources for r	enewable energy 	t	ypically depend on 	weather patterns	, such as wind	, 	precipita-	
tion 	and solar radiation	. 	Biological waste is another potential 	re	source. 	Evaluating 	whether	the 	
physical resources are available and in 	which	 	amount is a first step	 	in assessing the potential of a 	
technology.	 	
2.2	 	Land availability	 	
Land is a limited resource and l	and	-	use change is an important driver of global warming 	(IPCC, 	
2023)	. It also affects our environment and biodiversity. Some RES 	technologies,	 such as wind and 	
solar power	,	 	are more land intensive than 	conventional	 	energy sources 	(	nuclear	, 	natural gas, 	
coal)	. In the context of Satu Mare	,	 	we focus on the land requirements such as the area needed 	
for 	solar panels or wind turbines. This might include evaluating land ownership, zoning regula-	
tions, land	-	use restrictions, and negative spill	-	over effects 	and 	potential conflicts 	with existing 	
land uses and near	-	by	 	firms and households	.	 	
Having available land 	for 	the necessary infrastructure is a second 	aspect of “land availability”	. 	
Here the difference between 	the 	RES and conventional energy 	technologies 	is less stark.	 	
2.3	 	Infrastructure and grid access	 	
Production and consumption 	of energy 	usually 	occur 	at 	different locations	. 	Energy must be trans-	
ported, and f	or large RES it is necessary to identify areas with sufficient transmission and 	distri-	
bution capacity	.	 	Grid infrastructure is often 	expensive,	 	and a cost	-	efficient deployment of grid

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infrastructuremight require high	-	level planning, taking into consideration where consumption is 	
established	 	and where the best locations for production 	are.	 	Distributed energy sources, such as 	
small	-	scale solar panels, might also come with grid requirements, e.g.	,	in order to 	enabl	e	 consum-	
ers to become prosumers and feed surplus power to the grid.	 	
2.4	 	Economics	 	
The potential for 	any RES will only be realised if a sound business case can be provided.	Since 	
prices are 	difficult to change	,	the question becomes what the costs of developing a RES project	 	
are	. Although costs are falling 	for	 	most RES 	technologies 	internationally	,	what matters for Satu 	
Mare is 	the 	cost condition in Satu Mare	, relative to 	prices and income	. 	 	
From a societal perspective	,	 	it 	is	 	total benefit to society, rather than total i	ncome 	over cost, that 	
matters	. 	A	 	cost	-	benefit analysis is an analysis that 	starts from the business case and adds 	“in-	
come” if a project entails positive environmental 	and social impacts, or contributes to energy 	
security, i.e.	,	 	incorporates 	indicators below. 	 	
The potential 	of	 RES should only be realized if benefits exceed costs.	 With positive environmental 	
and social impacts	,	benefits may exceed costs even if the 	business case is negative	, i.e.	,	 the income 	
is lower than the cost	. In such cases 	it	 	is important to strengthen the business case	 	by means of 	
public support. Most support instruments are found at the national or EU	-	level, but 	Satu Mare as 	
a community may also consider support. 	The community may for instance provide land and cer-	
tain infrastructure services, or 	help with 	financing (municipal bond, local bank). 	 	
2.5	 	Environmental and social impact	 	
Different sources of energy consumption carry different types of impacts on its surroundings, 
both society and nature. 	For instance	, 	fossil fuel technologies, such as coal	-	fired power plants, 	
may 	have 	a 	severe impact on people’s health due to polluting the air	 	(see above)	. Wind turbines 	
cause noise 	and disturb 	people living in their proximity	;	 	they 	may also 	have a negative effect on 	
bird populations. Ignoring such impacts on 	the 	surroundings 	may lead to	 	loss of public support	 	
and 	political backlash.	The impact on greenhouse gas emissions	,	 in particular, is important for de-	
cisions today and will probably become more important in the next few years. 	 	
2.6	 	Technical knowledge	 	
Some technologies are more complex than others	. The installation, operation and 	maintenance	 	
of energy systems 	may	 	require skilled 	workers	who	are	 	familiar with the technology	. 	The 	practical 	
potential for 	investing in and operating 	RES 	technologies 	may be severely limited if 	skilled 	workers	 	
of the right sort 	are	 	not available. 	 	
2.7	 	Policy and regulatory environment	 	
As indicated 	above	,	 	t	he political and regulatory environment 	may 	have significant effects on the 	
costs and performance of the deployment of RES technologies. Regulation sets the rules of the

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game and can have severe impacts on the viability and profitability of projects. Permitting and 
licensing, grid access and interconnections, net metering, land	-	use regulations, market access 	
and competition rules are some examples. In addition, political g	oals such as renewable energy 	
targets and commitments set a direction and typically come with incentive programs.	 	
It is important to note that 	regulation and policies often come with different welfare and distri-	
butional effects. 	For example, 	subsidies aimed at 	deployment of new 	energy 	technologies can be 	
capital intensiv	e 	which can lead 	to benefits being distributed to those that have the capacity to 	
invest	. 	Geographical distribution effects 	are	 another example, where areas that host new renew-	
able energy 	infrastructure may attract economic activity at the expense of other areas	,	 	or 	con-	
versely, the area can face environmental 	impacts such as land	-	use change. 	 	
2.8	 	Impact on energy security	 	
Energy in general	,	 	and electricity in particular	,	 	is a necessary input for modern society. 	E	nergy 	
security means 	always providing reliable 	production and transportation of energy to the end	-	
users	,	 	at 	anaffordable	 	price. Increasing energy security means reducing the risk of disruption or 	
reducing the consequences of disruption (or both). Different technologies might have different 
effects on energy security	.	For instance,	wind and solar power are 	intermittent	.	 	
2.9	 	Summary and guidance for the next chapters	 	
It is beyond the scope of this report to 	delve deeply into all the indicators and	 all possible 	renew-	
able energy 	technologies	. 	In terms of technology	,	 	we will in the rest of the report 	focus 	most-	
lyon	s	olar and bioenergy and energy efficiency, which we will argue are the most promising tech-	
nologies for Satu Mare. 	We will discuss these technologies in chapter	3	, 	4	and 	7	, respectively. 	
Chapter 	5	 	includes a brief discussion of other potential technologies. 	 	
In terms of indicators	,	 	we 	focus 	on the physical 	resource potential	, 	land availability	 	and costs	. 	
Some of the other indicators, like the availability of skilled 	workers	 	or local 	infrastructure	 	infor-	
mation	, 	require intimate knowledge of the situation 	in Satu Mare. We leave it to 	our	 	colleagues 	
in Satu Mare	to fill in on 	indicators where they have an advantage.

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3	 	Solar energy has 	good	potential 	
in S	atu Mare	 	
In this chapter we 	assess the potential for solar energy in Satu Mare. 	Broadly speaking, technol-	
ogies exploiting energy from the sun can be characterised as either passive or active solar energy. 
Passive solar energy techn	ologies	 include smart building design and choice of materials that have 	
good thermal mass or light	-	dispersing characteristics. These technologies are discussed further 	
in chapter 	7	on energy efficiency.	 	
Active solar technologies 	include concentrated solar power (CSP), photovoltaic (PV) cells, and 	
various forms of solar heating systems. 	These technologies convert 	solar radiation to electric	ity 	
or heat	. 	It is 	the	 	active 	solar energy that we focus on in th	is	 	chapter. 	 	
3.1	 	Three important t	echnologies 	for exploiting 	energy from the sun	 	
We here highlight three important technologies that exploit energy from the sun	: photovoltaic 	
cells, concentrated solar power, and solar heating systems. 	These are mature technologies that 	
are available	 	in the market 	today. 	 	
3.1.1	 	Solar photovoltaics	 	(PV)	 	
Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells generate electricity directly from sunlight. A solar PV cell is made 	of	 	
a semiconductor material, i.e., 	a 	material that conducts electricity only when energy is provided. 	
The most common semiconductor material used in PV cells today is silicon	, 	employed in	 	95	 	per-	
cent	of global 	PV 	production	(IEA, 2022)	. 	The remaining 5	 percent	are	mainly	 thin	-	film PV cells made 	
from cadmium telluride	, 	but 	this 	technology	 	will not be discussed further in this report	. 	 	
The semiconductor material is typically layered	,	where 	the 	layer	s have 	opposing charges	 to 	create 	
the potential for an electric field	. 	The layers are connected by a	n	electrode 	that creates a path for 	
electrons to flow	. 	When sunlight hits the PV cell, it absorbs the sunlight by transferring the energy 	
to negatively charged electronsthat then flow through 	the electrode	 	and produce direct current 	
(DC) 	electricity.	 	Many PV cells are 	connected	 	to 	increase the voltage to usable levels.	 	The DC 	
electricity is then passed through an inverter to transform it to alternating current (AC) electricity 
that can be used in household appliances or fed into the grid. 	 	
Solar PV panels can be deployed at any scale	. Hence, it 	is one of few technologies that offer	s	 	a 	
decentralized power 	production	 	potential, where households, firms and farms can produce their 	
own low	-	voltage electricity. Another major benefit is that it can be installed on any surface that 	
receives sunlight. This includes surface areas that are already in use, such as buildings and	 	other 	
infrastructure. Thus, solar PV systems can be installed without 	the 	need to convert scarce land. 	
Solar PV panels do not pr	oduce any emissions	 	or noise during electricity 	production	.

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3.1.2	 	Concentrated solar power	 	(CSP)	 	
Concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight on 
a pipe or container with 	a 	fluid inside, e.g., synthetic oil or molten salt. The concentrated sunlight 	
heats up the fluid before it is transported to a heat exchanger where it transfers heat to water or 
another fluid that can drive a steam turbine to generate electricity. Alternativ	ely, the heat can be 	
used directly in industrial processes or in district heating systems. 	Figure 	3	.	1	 illustrate	s	four 	differ-	
ent CSP technologies. 	One major benefit of CSP is that heat can be stored	 (	by heating up adjacent 	
reservoirs of fluids)	, thus a CSP plant that incorporates thermal energy storage can be a dispatch-	
able form of renewable energy.	 	
Figure 	3	.	1	 	Illustration of common types of CSP technologies	 	
 	
Source:	 	Enache et al. 	(2019)	 	
CSP works best in regions with clear air that receive a lot of sunshine. In Europe, this is mostly in 
Spain	, as indicated in	Figure 	3	.	2	,	 	where there is already 2310 MW of installed capacity of CSP in 	
2023, compared to only 22 MW in the rest of Europe.	
1	
 	
3.1.3	 	Solar	 	heating	 	
Solar energy can 	also 	be used to 	directly 	heat 	water and 	air in 	buildings. Although 	solar heating 	
systems do not produce electricity, they offer an attractive substitute for electricity used for heat-
ing in 	buildings	. 	A s	olar heating system 	is a 	simple, but reliable 	technology 	that c	an 	contribute to 	
the overall objectives of increased renewable energy 	sources 	and energy security. 	 	
Solar heating can be used both for water and air heating. A solar water system typically consists 
of a collector and a storage tank. The collector area might consist of tubes containing some anti	-	
freeze liquid and 	a 	material or coating that absorbs heat from the sun. The liquid is passed 	
through the tubes in the collector area where it heats up before being transported to a heat 
exchanger where the hot fluid transfers heat to water that can then be stored in a tank. 	A best	-	
practice example on using solar he	ating is 	described	 	in section	7.4	. 	 	
Similarly, air can be circulated through a collector area 	where	 	sunlight heats the air before this 	
hot air is circulated into a house for heating. A well	-	designed solar air heating system can provide 	
air with temperatures well above normal indoor temperatures even 	in	 winter when outside tem-	
perature	 	is below zero d	egrees Celsius. 	 	
 	
1	 Installed capacity data are from S	olarPACES 	–	 NREL database, which is found here: 	 	
https://www.solarpaces.org/worldwide	-	csp/csp	-	projects	-	around	-	the	-	world/

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Solar air	-	 	or water heating is a mature and simple technology that has existed for decades and 	
might be an attractive option as a renewable energy source for dwellings in Satu Mare.	 	
3.2	 	Resource potential	 	
There are several 	issues	 	to consider when estimating the power potential of solar PV panels in a 	
region. 	One of the most important and basic	 	parameter	s	 	for the resource potential and energy 	
yield estimation is	solar	irradiation	.	Figure 	3	.	3	 	show	s	 	estimated solar PV power 	production	 	poten-	
tial in Romania and Satu Mare	, where red indicate 	the highest potential and blue indicate the 	
lowest potential	.	 	For 	comparison,	Figure 	3	.	2	 	show the same for Europe. 	The estimation assumes 	
a PV system configuration with ground	-	based crystalline	-	silicon PV modules installed in a fixed 	
position with optimal tilt, and it 	considers	 	solar radiation, air temperature, and terrain.	
2	
 	
S	outh	ern	 	Romania 	has excellent	 	potential for power 	production	 	from solar PV. The potential in 	
n	orth	ern	 	Romania and in Satu Mare is relatively smaller as indicated in 	Figure 	3	.	3	 	and 	Figure 	3	.	5	. 	
Nevertheless,	 Satu Mare is well suited for solar energy 	production	 compared to 	the 	rest of Europe	 	
(	Figure 	3	.	2	)	. 	 	
Figure 	3	.	2	 	Photovoltaic power potential in Europe	 	
 
Source:	 	The World Bank 	(2020)	. 	
L	arge solar PV farms should be coordinated on a higher level to ensure system efficiency. It might 	
be 	more cost	-	effective to build large solar farms with higher output in the south and transmit 	
power to the north, compared to building solar farms with lower output in the north	, but 	it is 	
beyond the scope of this report to investigate this trade off further. 	 	
 	
2	The calculation assumes 3.5	 percent	 losses due to dirt and soiling and 7.5	 percent	 of other conversion losses such as 	
inter	-	row shading, inverters, cables and transformers.	 	
Romania

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Figure 	3	.	3	 	Photovoltaic power potential in Romania.	 	
 	
Source:	 	The World Bank 	(2020)	. 	
As indicated in 	Figure 	3	.	3	, the resource potential in Satu Mare is estimated to be 	higher than 	
1	 	2	00	 	kWh of 	yearly 	production per kW	p	 	of installed capacity. This means that a solar PV panel 	
that has a peak capacity of 1 kW	,	 can be expected to produce 1	 	2	00 	kWh in one year.	
3	
 	Depending 	
on the efficiency of the PV panel, a 1kW	p	 	panel might take up an area of 5	-	7 m	
2	
. 	 	
The average household consumption of electricity in Romania is around 	2	 	600 	kWh per year, 	
meaning that even a small PV system that covers 5	-	7	m	
2	
 can provide 	about	 40	 percent	 of a house-	
hold	’	s electricity needs.	
4	
 	
It is important to note that 	production	 will not be evenly spread across the year	, since	 irradiation 	
is lower in 	winter months than in the summer months. 	Figure 	3	.	4	show	s	 	how the 	production	 	is 	
estimated to spread across the year	, with more than 	three times	 	as much being produced in 	July 	
than in 	January	. 	This 	variation	 	across seasons and across the day will necessitate 	other energy 	
sources or storage to balance demand. 	 	
 	
3	1 kW for 1	2	00 hours gives 1	2	00 kWh. 	For comparison, t	here are 8760 hours in the year	. 	 	
4	The European Com	m	ission’s Joint Research Centre 	has made available a	n	estimation tool 	called PVGIS that can be used 	
to simulate how much electricity can be generated from a solar PV panel of different technologies and system 
assumptions. The tool 	can be f	ound on this website: 	https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu

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Figure 	3	.	4	 	Estimated 	average monthly power 	production	 	from a 1kW	p	 	panel in Satu 	
Mare	 	
 
Source:	 	EU JRC 	(2022)	. 	
To put	the potential	 	into perspective	:	 	power 	production	 	from solar PVs contributed only 2.5	 	per-	
cent	 	of net electricity 	production	 	in Romania in 2022	.M	ost of the 	production	 	took place in the 	
large solar farms in the south	. In comparison,	 	solar PV contributed 	to 	more than 10	 	percent	 	of 	
net electricity 	production	 	in Germany in 2022.	
5	
 	This is despite Germany hav	ing	 	a lower resource 	
potential 	for solar energy 	than 	Romania	, as 	shown 	in	Figure 	3	.	2	. 	Other things equal, and	 	given 	
Romania’s better resource potential, the 	share in Romania 	should	 	be higher than Germany	’s 10 	
percent	. 	 	
The physical resource potential for CSP seems limited in Satu Mare. 	The amount of direct normal 	
irradiation (DNI)	 	received	 	is an important measure of the resource potential for CSP plants. 	CSP 	
plants are	 in general	 suitable for regions with annual direct normal irradiation of more than 1900 	
kWh/m	
2	
(Alami, et al., 2023)	. In regions that receive less DNI than this, PV cells might be better as 	
they can better capture diffuse irradiances.	 	
Figure 	3	.	5	 	shows that Romania in general, and Satu Mare in particular, receive DNI well below 	
1400 kWh/m	
2	
. Thus, based on this theoretical resource potential, CSP is probably not the renew-	
able technology with the best potential in Satu Mare. 	 	
 	
5	 The numbers are collected from 	energy	-	charts.info	 and based on data from ENTSO	-	E. 	 	
020406080100120140160JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeckWh

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Figure 	3	.	5	 	Direct normal irradiation in Romania	 	
 	
Source:	 	The World Bank 	(2020)	. 	
3.3	 	Land availability	 	
Producing 	electricity	 	from solar irradiation require	s	 	large land areas where the solar panels have 	
a direct 	view of 	the sky. Land	-	use change, typically in the form of deforestation or soil degrada-	
tion, can lead to higher 	CO	2	-	emissions in addition to reduced biodiversity. It is therefore prefera-	
ble to exploit land 	for PV 	that has already been converted 	to	 human use and infrastructure, rather 	
than converting forests and natural areas. 	 	
Figure 	3	.	6	shows how land area in Satu Mare is distributed between artificial surfaces, agricultural 	
areas, forests and semi	-	natural areas, and wetlands and water bodies. Forests and semi	-	natural 	
areas make up 19	 	percent	 	of the total land area. These areas also consist of several Natura 2000 	
sites, which are protected areas for animal species or habitat types listed in the EU’s Habitats and 
Birds Directives. 	These areas are 	coloured green	 	in	Figure 	3	.	7	.	 	
More than 70	 percent	 of the land area in Satu Mare is agricultural land, consisting mainly of non	-	
irrigated arable land (52	 	percent	) and pastures (12	 	percent	). In addition, there are artificial sur-	
faces, which include buildings, roads, and other human infrastructure, that make up 7	 percent	 of 	
the total land area in Satu Mare.

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Solar PV panels can be deployed both 	on	 	artificial surfaces	,	 	such as building rooftops	,	 	and on 	
agricultural land, either by replacing agricultural production or by combining solar PV 	production	 	
and agricultur	al	 	production, often called 	Agrivoltaics	 	or 	Agri	-	PV	.	This option is further discussed 	
in chapter 	3.4	.	 	
Figure 	3	.	6	 	Land cover classification in Satu Mare	 	Figure 	3	.	7	 	Natura 2000 sites in Satu 	Mare	 	
 	
 	
Source:	 	The 	European Environment Agency	(2019)	. 	Source:	 	The European Environmental Agency 	(2021)	)	 	
3.4	 	Agri	-	PV	 	
Agri	-	PV	, or 	agrivoltaics	, is the dual 	use of 	land 	with ground	-	mounted 	solar 	PV panels 	and agricul-	
tural production. 	Agri	-	PV offers the opportunity to use existing agricultural land for solar power 	
production	, while at the same time 	continuing with 	agricultural	 	production	. The technology has 	
developed rapidly 	since the first agri	-	PV systems 	were 	installed in France and Italy in 2011. 	Global 	
i	nstalled capacity in 2021 was 14 	GW	p	, 	an increase	 	from 5 MW	p	 	in 2012	(Fraunhofer Institute for 	
Solar Energy Systems, 2022)	. 	 	
Agri	-	PV technologies can be roughly separated into two categories: 	open systems and closed sys-	
tems	, where closed systems typically mean greenhouses with PV installations. Open systems in-	
clude 	ground	-	level interspaced PV panels and overhead PV panel	s	. 	Open systems	 	might be more 	
relevant for Satu Mare	. Ground	-	level interspaced systems are generally cheaper	, but only allow 	
farming in between 	panels. Overhead systems are typically installed 	a few	 	meters above ground	,	 	
which allows the ground beneath to be used for farming. 	Hence, o	verhead systems use land more 	
efficiently	,	 	as the PV panels do not displace 	as	 	much 	farming land. 	However	, o	verhead systems 	
might reduce crop yield as the amount of sunlight reaching the ground is lower	. 	This will depend 	
on 	local conditions and 	the 	type	 of crop	 farmed	. 	Many	 crops are shade tolerant, such as 	potatoes	, 	
tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, broccoli	,	 	and corn. 	In some cases	,	 	overhead agri	-	PV	 	systems might 	
even increase	 crop yield	as they can offer protection from hail	, frost, drought and heat, which can 	
offset the negative effect of reduced exposure to the sun	(Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy 	
Systems, 2022)	. 	 	
In addition to the benefit of more efficient land	-	use	 and potential to increase crop yield, especially 	
in years with more extreme weather, 	agri	-	PV	 	can also give farmers an additional 	source of in-	
come	. 	Whether this income is enough to offset the investments 	in the infrastructure and PV mod-	
ules needs to be 	assessed	case by case	 	in Satu Mare.	 	
7%73%19%1%Artificial surfacesAgricultural areasForest and semi-natural areasWetlands andwater bodies

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In some specific cases, agri	-	PV can 	also 	help 	to 	improve bio	-	diversity	 	by improving local flora and 	
fauna	, in particular in 	land with monoculture agricultural production 	(Solar Power Europe, 	
2022b)	.	 	
3.5	 	The economics of solar PV	 	
Figure 	3	.	8	 	shows the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for solar PV panels. The calculation is 	
based on observational data from Germany, but the level of global horizontal irradiation used in 
the calculations is 1300 kWh/m	
2	
 per year (south	ern	 Germany) which is similar to the level in Satu 	
Mare, making the calculations relatively comparable. 	 	
Figure 	3	.	8	 	Levelized cost of electricity of solar PV	 	
 	
Source:	 	Vista Analyse based on Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems 	(2021)	 	
The LCOE is an average cost measure taking into consideration the cost of construction and in-
stallation, financing costs, operating costs, and plant lifetime. 	 	
Large g	round	-	mounted PV panels offer the lowest 	levelized cost of electricity (	LCOE	)	 	at between 	
31.2 and 41.6 	EUR/MWh	 	(2021	-	€)	. Costs per unit of electricity is higher for smaller systems and 	
for rooftop systems. Adding a battery will significantly increase costs. However, the LCOE does 
not consider the value of the electricity produced. A battery can store power and dispatch it 	when 	
prices are high, which can contribute to the financial viability of battery systems not captured in 
the LCOE measure. 	 	
It is important to note that the LCOE is an average 	cost 	measure. It does not consider dynamic 	
effects	,	 	such as when production is available and if the technology is dispatchable. Dispatchable 	
technologies, like traditional gas	-	fired power plants, can turn on production when prices are high, 	
while intermittent renewable technologies, like solar PV, only pro	duce when the sun is shining, 	
which is not necessarily when prices are high. Thus, the LCOE does not 	include 	the value of the 	
produced electricity. Furth	er, 	LCOE	 	does not consider other advantages	,	 	such as ability to inte-	
grate energy storage, the number of full load hours and decentralized power 	production	.	 	
020406080100120140160Small rooftop PV(<30kWp)Large rooftop PV(>30kWp)Ground-mounted PV(> 1MWp)Rooftop PV withbatteryEUR per MWh

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The costs of a	gri	-	PV 	systems vary greatly depending on 	aspects	 such as installed capacity, agricul-	
tural activity, 	position and necessary additional infrastructure, and the PV module technology. 	
Compared to ground	-	mounted PV 	systems, agri	-	PV	 	systems 	incur additional investment costs in 	
the necessary 	substructure	. This is in particular the case for agri	-	PV	 	systems used in arable farm-	
ing, where substructures might be 	more than	 4 meters high	(Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy 	
Systems, 2022)	.	 	
3.6	 	Other 	issues	 	
In the following, w	e briefly discuss some of the 	issues	 mentioned in	 chapter	2	 that could influence 	
the viability of solar energy in Satu Mare. 	 	
Alt	h	ough not investigated in detail in this report, 	participants at the seminar in Satu Mare	believed 	
that 	grid infrastructure	in the region could be a limiting factor for 	the expansion of solar energy. 	
The lack of available grid capacity 	may	increase costs and 	cause 	delays in the 	development	of 	solar 	
projects	. 	In a survey 	circulated to national 	solar PV industry associations	 	and in interviews with 	
local industry representatives, Solar Power Europe found that 	Romania	received	a low assessment 	
along the dimensions of grid planning and grid connectio	n	(Solar Power Europe, 2022a)	. 	 	
Some seminar participants voiced concern	s	about	 	the 	environmental impact	of 	used solar 	PV	 	
panels.	Solar PV panels can to a large extent be recycled.	In silicon	-	based PV panels around 95	 	
percent	 	of the glass is recyclable and metal parts can be reused to form new frames for solar 	
modules. In addition, 85	 	percent	 	of the raw silicon material can be recovered 	(Ratner, et al., 	
2020)	. 	Whereas the share of end	-	of	-	life PV modules being recycled is less than 10	 	percent	 	in the 	
United States, it is 	almost 95	 	percent	 	in the European Union 	(IEA, 2022)	.	In addition, t	he lifetime 	
of solar PV panels is long. 	Most	 	solar panel manufacturers guarantee that the output will be at 	
least 80	 percent	 of the original power rating for 25 years and the average lifetime of a panel is 30 	
years 	(Faircloth, et al., 2019; IEA PVPS, 2018)	.	 	
Solar PV panels can also be installed on existing infrastructure 	and artificial surfaces	 	with little 	
impact on nature and biodiversity	. 	They may	 	also be installed in combination with agriculture 	
production, discussed in chapter 	3.4	. 	In some cases, 	solar PV panels installed on agricultural land 	
can 	even help 	enhance biodiversity	(Solar Power Europe, 2022b)	 	
There are mainly two ways solar energy can impact 	en	ergy security	. 	Firstly, it can improve energy 	
security 	as it brings 	production	close to deman	d	 	and under local jurisdiction/control. 	When dis-	
tributed, solar power also has the benefit that it spreads production units across 	space	 	and thus 	
reduc	es	 	the risk 	of disruption by reducing the concentration of production units. 	 	
A downside of solar energy 	with respect to energy security is the intermittency and dependence 	
on 	the 	weather and season	s	. 	Also, t	he panels themselves 	must 	most 	likely be imported from 	
abroad	. China currently dominates the solar PV supply chain	, in particular in wafer production	 	
where it has above 9	7	 percent	of 	global manufacturing capacity	, 	but efforts are being made in the 	
European Union to 	strengthen the local PV supply chain. Norway is an important supplier of wa-	
fers in this respect. 	China is also well integrated into global markets and whether the high market 	
share 	influences	 	energy security is not clear.

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Technical knowledge	does not seem to be 	an issue. There 	are 	already several larger solar farms 	
and many	 smaller ones	 in Satu Mare	. 	Local seminar participants 	highlighted that there are several 	
companies setting up small	-	scale units in the county.

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4	 	Significant biomass resources in 
Satu Mare	 	
Bioenergy refers to the energy 	contained in organic materials, also known as 	biomass	,	 	and the 	
utilization of the energy	. 	This include	s	 biological materials 	that	 are directly or indirectly	 produced 	
by photosynthesis. 	Through the photosynthesis, plants and plankton store energy	, which can later 	
be released either for the plant itself to grow, 	when eaten by an animal	 	or human	, when con-	
sumed by bacteria or when set on fire. In each of these cases energy is released.	 	
Carbon is stored in the biomass. In a chemical reaction that releases the energy, the carbon will 
be released as well.	
6	
As long as the 	consumption	 of biomass is lower or equal to the 	production	 of 	
the biomass, there will 	be a zero or negative addition of carbon to the atmosphere. 	Simply put, 	
this means growing more trees than 	we burn. 	It is important to note that bioenergy 	is only 	re-	
newable 	and 	net zero	 	if this is the case. 	If 	combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS), bio-	
energy can also provide negative emissions. 	 	
There is a huge variety of 	biomasses	. 	Some examples of biomass include wood, 	crop	s, 	algae, 	bio-	
degradable 	garbage,	 and s	ewage. 	The energy contained in the biomass can be harnessed through 	
different conversion processes to generate heat, electricity, or biofuels. 	 	
One way to categorise bioenergy sources is 	by	 	types 	of 	technology, either 	as 	“traditional” or 	
“modern” bioenergy. Traditional bioenergy refers to the direct combustion of biomass and is of-
ten associated with low energy efficiency and high negative impact on the environment through 
the release of pollutantsand carbon dioxide. Exampl	es of traditional bioenergy are burning wood 	
or animal waste for heat. Modern bioenergy includes advanced 	methods for burning biomass, 	
in	district heating units or 	heatandpower pla	nts to produce heat 	and	 	electricity	; or 	converting 	bi-	
omass to 	syn	-	gas or bio	-	oil in 	a process of pyrolysis or gasification. 	A detailed discussion of these 	
technologies is beyond the scope of this study.	We focus here on a third technology	,	 that is 	prom-	
ising for Satu Mare	:	biogas. Biogas is produced	 through anaerobic digestion of residues or sewage 	
waste, or wood	-	pellets heating systems. 	 	
4.1	 	Different ways of producing biogas from biomass	 	
When we talk about 	biogas	 	we typically mean a mixture of methane (CH	4	), 	carbon dioxide (	CO	2	),	 	
and small quantities of other gases	 	produced from organic matter. 	The exact content of a biogas 	
sample 	will depend on 	the	 method 	used 	and	 on	 what	 type of feedstock is used 	i	n 	the 	production. 	
There are three main technologies: 	 	
1.	 	Biodigest	ion	is a method where micro	-	organisms (bacteria) 	break	 	down 	biomass	in a	n envi-	
ronment without oxygen (referred to as a	n	anaerobic process	)	. This produces methane and 	
digestate as a by	-	product depending on the feedstock.	 	
 	
6	Fossil fuels are also a type of biomass. However, they are created in what is called 	the slow carbon cycle	, which works 	
over millions of years. Thus, the creation of fossil fuels will be lower than the consumption (burning) and add carbon 
to the atmosphere, essentially moving carbon from the slow carbon cycle to the fast carbon cycle.

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2.	 	Landfil	l	 	gas	-	recovery systems 	capture methane gas that is produced by the 	decomposition 	
of municipal solid waste 	under anaerobic conditions in landfills. 	 	
3.	 	Wastewater treatment plants	can extract organi	c	 	matter from 	sewage sludge 	anduse it to 	
produce biogas 	in 	an 	anaerobic digest	er.	Formally	, it is an input or pre	-	stage to 	the technol-	
ogy biodigestion.	 	
The methane content of the biogas produced (which is the part containing the most energy)	 	de-	
pends on the method and feedstock used. 	As much as half of the biogas can 	be made up of 	
CO	2	,	which is a stable gas that cannot be used for energy. 	Thus	,	 	the energy content of the biogas 	
can vary greatly. Some 	consumption	purposes	, like transportation, require (almost) pure me-	
thane, which is called biomethaneif produced from biomass. 	 	
Biomethane can be produced by 	upgrading	 	biogas, i.e., removing CO	2	 	and other gases so that 	
only methane is left	. Biomethane can also be produced from soli	d	 	biomass through 	thermal gas-	
ification	, 	but 	this is less common	.	 Biomethane 	has identical chemical properties to methane	 (nat-	
ural gas)	 and	 the same 	consumption purposes	. Li	ke	 natural gas	, 	it 	will emit CO	2	 when it is burned. 	
The important difference is that biomethane is made from a renewable source	, and as long as 	
the 	biomass is sustainably sourced, emissions will be net zero.	
7	
Thus, biomethane can be used 	in 	
gas	-	fired power plants, 	as 	fuel in buses and 	ships	, or used for cooking and heating	, with net zero 	
emissions	. 	 	
4.2	 	Biogas can be made from several types of feedstock	 	
There are several feedstock options to produce biogas 	and biomethane 	with the methods dis-	
cussed above. 	Energy crops 	are crops grown specifically for bioenergy purposes. 	These are typi-	
cally low	-	cost and easy to grow	, such as 	maiz	e	, sugar beet	 	and millet	. Energy crops are contro-	
versial for two reasons. Firstly, 	they	 	require 	a 	large	land area 	and increased production may	 	di-	
rectly or indirectly 	lead to land	-	use change and deforestation. Second, 	they typically require fer-	
tilizers which, as of today, are mainly produced 	using	 fossil	energy 	sources	, meaning net emissions 	
can be high.	 	 	
Due to the issues 	with	 	energy crops, we instead focus on feedstock options that	, in principle, do 	
not require additional land or fertilizer use. 	From a circulareconomy perspective, i	t is better to 	
look for biomass resources	 	that are produced 	today, 	but underutilized. There are 	four main cat-	
egories of biomass that can be used to produce biogas and biomethane	: 	c	rop residues, animal 	
manure, the organic content of municipal 	solid 	waste	, and wastewater sludge. 	Using waste and 	
residues as feedstock avoids the land	-	use issues and present a good 	circular	-	economy solution 	
by utilizing existing resources better. 	 	
Agricultural production often leaves 	residues	that can be 	used to make biogas. 	E	xample	s	are	 	resi-	
dues from the harvest of wheat, maize, 	grains, sugar beet, and oilseeds like sunflowers. 	Sequen-	
tial crops used in soil management, but not 	for food production, can also be used as these do not 	
displace crop area for food production. 	Residues from forest management and wood processing 	
can also be used 	to make biogas through thermal gasification.	 	
 	
7	In fact, biomethane is sometimes referred to as 	renewable natural gas	.

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Animal manure	can be a good source of biomass. 	Livestock such as cattle, pigs, 	sheep and 	p	o	ultry 	
produce manure over their lifecycle, which can be collected and used as input in anaerobic di-
gesters 	to produce biogas. 	This is 	a common source of feedstock for biogas production in Europe 	
today, and 	the most common feedstock 	used 	in China	(IEA, 2020)	. 	 	
Municipal solid waste	is a more specific term for what is otherwise known as garbage or trash.	 	
Households	 and businesses 	produce waste in various forms	 that are typically collected by munic-	
ipalities	. Some of this waste is organic material that can be used for biogas production. 	Examples 	
include 	food, leaves and grass, paper and cardboard that is otherwise not recycled	. 	The organic 	
content can be 	separated at the time of disposal	, which for example is done in most of Norway 	
(	see 	chapter 	4.5	 	below	 	for a	 	case 	example	). 	It is also possible to extract biogas from landfills by 	
using wells	. 	 	
Wastewater sludge	is another feedstock that can be used to produce biogas. Sludge water con-	
tain	s	 	semi	-	solid 	organic matter, which can be recovere	d as sewage gas 	in wastewater treatment 	
plants. 	Chapter 	4.5	 	show	s	 	a best	-	practice example 	from Norway 	of this method	. 	 	
4.2.1	 	The agriculture sector in Satu Mare 	can provide feedstock for biogas pro-	
duction.	 	
Most of the land area in Satu Mare is used for agricultural production	(	Figure 	3	.	6	)	. 	These agricul-	
tural areas mainly consist of 	non	-	irrigated land (72 	percent	) and pastures (17 	percent	)	. 	Cereals	 	is 	
the most common crop measured in tonnes	, followed by 	green fodder, oil crops, and potatoes 	
and other vegetables.	 	
Figure 	4	.	1	 show	s crop production in 2022. Cereals are colo	u	red 	dark 	blue, 	green fodder is shown 	
in 	blue	, and 	oil	 crops 	are	 shown in 	light blue	.	Maize, wheat and rye are the most common cereals	, 	
while sunflowerseeds	, rapeseed, and soya beans make up the oil crops. 	These crops are mainly 	
grown for human consumption,	but residues may be used for bioenergy. 	We do not have detailed 	
data on the amount and quality of the residues to 	infer the potential for bioenergy production in 	
Satu Mare. 	 	
Figure 	4	.	1	 	Crop production in Satu Mare in 2022	 	
 	
Source:	 	INSSE.	 	
In addition to crop production, 	there is 	also 	a lot of livestock	 	in Satu Mare	. 	Pigs and poultry dom-	
inate in terms of live weight, but there are also some cattle, sheep and goats. 	Li	vestock manure 	
050100150200250Maize grainsGreen fodderWheat and ryeSunflowerseedRapeseedVegetablesOther cerealsSoya beansPotatoesBarleyTonnes (in thousands)

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can be used to produce biogas, however, the energy content of manure is lower than 	in crop 	
residues and municipal solid waste	(IEA, 2020)	. 	Manure from pig and poultry contain more energy 	
than manure from cattle, sheep and goats and thus provide higher biogas production yield.	 	
Figure 	4	.	2	 	Total live weight of livestock for slaughter in Satu Mare in 2022	 	
 	
Source:	 	INSSE	 	
4.2.2	 	Untapped potential in municipal waste collection	 	
Household food waste is currently not separated and utilized in Satu Mare county. 	Waste is sep-	
arated in glass, metal and plastic	,	 	but there is room for improvement in also separating 	food 	
waste. 	Food waste	, in addition to garden waste, 	ha	s	 	higher energy content than animal manure 	
and about the same energy content as some energy crops like maize and oilseeds	(IEA, 2020)	. 	In 	
terms of resource utilization, t	his might provide an untapped potential for 	better utilization of 	
biomass, e.g.	,	 	to produce biogas. However,	a more detailed resource assessment need	s	 	to be 	
made 	to 	see if the resource potential is large enough to be financially viable. 	 	
4.3	 	Cost	s are	 	competitive	 	
The costs of biogas vary greatly depending on the 	technology, e.g.	,	 	biodigester, wastewater di-	
gester, landfill gas recovery. Landfill gas recovery systems are typically the cheapest, followed by 
large biodigesters and wastewater digesters 	(IEA, 2020)	. Costs also depend on scale, with larger 	
biodigesters typically having lower levelized cost of energy. Additional cost differentials also exist 
based on the feedstock used, e.g., animal manure ha	s	 a lower energy content than energy crops, 	
and on the costs and efforts required for collecting the feedstock. The business case for bio-
methane will also depend on the natural gas price, which can vary greatly. 	 	
We do not have data for	 	electricity 	production	 	from biogas plants	 	in 	Satu Mare. However, we 	
have data from Germany	. 	Figure 	4	.	3	 	show 	estimates for 	LCOE	 	with a lower and upper limit	 	for 	
biogas plants, combined	-	cycle gas plants, and gas turbines	, with and without heat utilization.

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Figure 	4	.	3	 	Levelized cost of electricity 	production	 	from gas power plants.	 	
 	
Source:	 	Vista Analyse based on Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems	 (2021)	 	
LCOE is an average measure that considers investment, financing, maintenance	 	and	 	operating 	
costs 	over	 the lifetime of a plant. For a biogas plant with heat utilization 	(cogeneration) 	the LCOE 	
will be lower than if the heat is not utilized.	The estimated interval capture	s	 	differences in invest-	
ment costs and 	the amount of full load hours. 	The lower estimate 	show 	plants with high number 	
of full load hours and a low investment cost. The upper estimate show	s	 high investment cost and 	
a low number of full load hours which contribute to a higher LCOE. 	Biogas with heat utilization is 	
estimated to 	have a LCOE between 	84.5 and 	1	72.6 	EUR/	MWh of electricity generated. 	Without 	
heat utilization, the costs 	are	between 134.4 and 222.4 	EUR/	MWh. 	This is more expensive, but 	
still 	competi	tive with a newly built 	CCGT gas plant, 	that	 	ha	s	 	costs 	in the range of 	55.9	–	107	, and 	
77.9	–	130.6 	EUR/	MWh	,	 	with and without heat utilization respectively. 	 	
The 	LCOE estimates are sens	itive 	to the substrate costs	. 	The calculations assume 	a substrate cost 	
of 	38	.	4	EUR	/MW	h	.The	 	LCOE can decrease with 	9.0 	EUR	/MWh	i	f	 	substrate costs are reduced 20 	
percent. Thus, 	using predominantly manure and agricultural residues as substrate	, which Satu 	
Mare have good resources of,	 can reduce the LCOE	-	estimate	 of biogas plants that is shown here	, 	
making them even more 	competitive with CCGT plants	. 	 	
4.4	 	Land availability and other factors	 	
Land use	of bioenergy depends on the feedstock used in production. 	P	referabl	y, 	there 	should be	 	
no direct or indirect land	-	use change as a consequence of expanded bioenergy production. 	If 	
energy crops 	are	 	the main feedstock, this will add pressure to 	convert new land 	for crop cultiva-	
tion, either by replacing crop production made for human consumption or by converting land 
area	s	 	such as forests. 	Using feedstock that 	is	 	already produced but 	is	 	underutilized 	may 	offer 	
bioenergy resources without 	the negative effects of land	-	use change. Examples include waste 	
water sludge, food waste, 	crop residues, and animal manure. 	 	
Bio	methane	 	can be a	n	important back	-	up capacity	 	and increase energy security	.	Increased 	
share of 	intermittent 	renewable	 energy sources, like wind and solar, will	, in the absence of battery 	
050100150200250300350Biogas with heatutilizationBiogas withoutheat utilizationNew CCGTwithout heatutilizationNew CCGT withheat utilizationGas turbinesEUR/MWh

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technologies,	 require 	a	dispatchable	 power source that can balance demand in time periods with-	
out wind and sun	. Today that 	back	-	up capacity is often 	based on 	fossil fuel. Whereas fossil fuels 	
do not get replenished 	i	n a relevant time scale, biomethane, sustainably sourced, offer	s	 	a net 	
zero backup	-	capacity technology. 	If it is also combined with carbon capture and storage (CSS)	,	 	it 	
can offer negative emissions	.	T	his is often referred to as BECCS (bioenergy with CCS). 	Having a 	
stable	 	and	 	sustainabl	e	 	supply of biomethane	 	can improve energy security by offering back	-	up 	
capacity to balance demand 	without positive emissions of carbon in the atmosphere	. 	 	
4.5	 	Best practice example	 	of biogas in Norway	 	
Below, we highlight two cases where surplus biomass has been utilized to produce biogas and 
biomethane	. Biogas is made from organic matter from wastewater 	in Oslo’s wastewater treat-	
ment plant 	Veas	, and from food waste collected from residents in 	the city of Oslo and neighbour-	
ing municipalities in the 	Romerike biogas plant	. 	 	
4.5.1	 	Veas 	Wastewater treatment plant 	outside	Oslo	 	
As part of 	the RENEWSM	, 	a comprehensive 	workshop	was held 	for a delegation 	from Romania 	in 	
Oslo in October 2023. 	The 	workshop	 included	 a visit to 	Veas’ 	wastewater treatment plant 	outside 	
of Oslo. This facility is Norway’s largest wastewater treatment plant and 	collects wastewater from 	
800	 	000 individuals in 	Oslo and surrounding munic	i	palit	i	es.	It is a 	good	 	example of how 	to extract 	
additional value 	from 	already existing biomass. 	 	
Veas	 	uses the organic contents of the wastewater to produce 	biogas	,	 	in addition to 	clean 	
wastewater, liquid fertilizer, soil products	, heat energy, and CO	2	. In 2020, a new production facil-	
ity for liquified biogas was commissioned. 	Wastewater sludge is 	separated and processed through 	
anaerobic digestion. 	In the upgraded facility,	 	the biogas is upgraded	 	to biomethane (liquified)	. 	
The plant produces 	and sells	 around 60 GWh of liquid biogas per year. 	One	 of its customers 	is	 the 	
city of Bergen	,	 	which uses the biogas as fuel in public buses. 	 	
The plant also produces around 5	 	000 	tonnes of liquid fertilizer (ammonium sulphate) 	per year 	
and 	40	 	000 	tonnes 	per year 	of soil products based on sludgethat is sold to the agricultural sector	. 	 	
Another subsidiary of the company	, Hoop CO	2	,	 	was established in June 2023	. CO	2	 	is a by	-	product 	
of the biogas upgrading	. Hoop CO	2	 aims 	at collecting the CO	2	and purify	ing	 it to food	-	grade quality. 	
Thus, the CO	2	 	produced in the making of biomethane 	is collected, purified and can be resold to 	
the food 	and beverage 	industry	,	which uses it	 	for example 	for 	sodas and beverages. 	It offers a 	
non	-	fossilsource of CO	2	 for the food 	and beverage 	industry	. 	Hoop 	CO	2	 also plan	s	 to provide tech-	
nical solutions for the extractio	n of CO	2	 	at other biogas facilities.

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Figure 	4	.	4	 	A can of beer produced using CO	2	 	collected at the wastewater treatment 	
plant Veas	 	
 
Photo	: 	Vista Analyse	 	
4.5.2	 	Romerike biogas plant 	–	 	utilizing food waste	 	
Food waste is separated from other types of waste in the city of Oslo and its surrounding munic-
ipalities. 	There are various ways this can be done. In Oslo, citizens sort their everyday garbage 	
into three differently colo	u	red bags	:a green bag for food waste	, a purple 	bag for plastics 	and 	an 	
arbitrarily	 	colo	u	red bag for other trash. 	The coloured bags 	are available 	for free 	in local super-	
markets. 	 	
The 	bags are disposed of in the same container outside the residence	s	. 	The bags are sorted 	at 	
the 	collection facility	, which is made easier by the 	coloured	 	bags	. Plastic is recycled, while the 	
food waste is sent to 	Romerike biogas facility	. In addition to the household food waste, the facility 	
accepts 	liquid food waste from industry and other businesses.

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Figure 	4	.	5	 	Household separate waste in three 
containers	 	
Figure 	4	.	6	 	Green bags for food waste	 	
 	 	
Photo	: 	Oslo kommune	 	Photo	: 	Oslo kommune	 	
The food waste is processed and 	steril	ized	 before it goes through 	anaerobic digestion that creates 	
biogas	 	and digestate	. 	The digestate is made into bio	-	fertilizer. 	The biogas will contain about 60 	
percent	 methane and about 40 	percent	 CO	2	 (in addition to 	small quantities of 	some other gases	). 	
The biogas is upgraded in two steps. 	 	
First, it is purified through water scrubbing	,	resulting in a biogas with 97 to 99 	percent	 	methane 	
that can be used 	as compressed biogas (CBG). 	In a second step, t	he biogas can be purified further 	
to 	a methane content of 99.9 	percent	,	 	which can be liquified	. The liquified methane is only one 	
sixth of the volume of 	compressed biogas	, 	s	av	ing	 	transport costs. 	The liquified biogas is used in 	
public buses and in the garbage collection trucks. One	 green	 bag of food waste is enough to power 	
a bus 250 meters. 	 	
T	h	ese	 	example	smay	 	act as	 	an	 	inspiration to stakeholders in Satu Mare.

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5	 	Geothermal energy	 	
Geothermal energy exploits heat generated wit	hin the Earth’s crust and located underground or 	
near the surface. The heat can be extracted and used directly for heating purposes, or the heat 
can be used in geothermal power plants to generate electricity. Geothermal energy is an attrac-
tive supplement i	n the energy supply mix. For all practical purposes, it is a renewable source of 	
energy and is associated with very low greenhousegas emissions. 	 	
Geothermal energy is one of 	the 	few renewable energy sources 	that	 	can provide base load gen-	
eration. The heat is stably regenerated from within the earth and 	it is 	weather	-	independent which 	
makes it an attractive supplement to other intermittent renewable sources such as wind and solar 
energy. Another benefit is that heat energy is easier to store in large quantities than electricity. 	 	
The total installed capacity of geothermal electricity production in the world was about 15 GW	,	 	
and 	only 	0.05 MW in Romania in 2022 	(International Renewable Energy Agency, 2023)	. 	Geother-	
mal energy contributes to a significant portion of power production in 	only 	a handful of countries 	
worldwide	, most notably in Iceland where it contributed 26 percent of power production capacity 	
in 2020 	(Orkustofnun, 2021)	. 	The production capacity in the EU is dominated by Italy (87 percent), 	
Germany (5 percent), and Portugal (3 percent) 	(International Renewable Energy Agency, 2023)	. 	
These numbers are complemented by some direct use of geothermal heat.	 	
5.1	 	Different t	echnologies	 	at different temperatures	 	
What technology is used to extract 	geothermal heat depends on local conditions such as depth 	
and 	resource	 	temperature. 	The heat utilization technologies can be separated into either 	elec-	
tricityproduction or direct heat use. 	Electricity generation 	require	s	resource	 	temperatures of 	
above 	90	 	degree	s	 	Celsius	(Nardini, 2022)	. 	A	t medium temperature levels (90	-	150	 	degree Celsius) 	
binary cycle power plants can generate 	electricity	.	Various types of steam power plants 	can be 	
used for electricity production at higher temperatures.	 	
At lower temperatures	, 	electricity generation is not feasible	, but heat pumps and direct	-	use geo-	
thermal technologies 	can utilize the resource for heating	 	or	 	cooling	 	in district heating systems	 	or 	
other industrial and commercial 	activities	. 	Some commercial activities include 	greenhouses, snow 	
melting, 	fish farming, resorts	,	 	and spas 	(Nardini, 2022)	.	 	
It is also possible to exploit geothermal heat for individual houses or 	neighbo	u	rhoods	. Under-	
ground temperatures are more stable than surface temperatures and 	offer 	good conditions for 	
underground heat pumps. 	The stable underground temperatures are also 	good for storing heat, 	
for example in combination with solar heaters as seen in the best	-	practice example in chapter 	
7.4.1	.

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5.2	 	Geothermal resource potential	 	
In 	theory	,	 there is some potential for geothermal energy at any location	,	 as the 	ground 	tempera-	
ture increases with depth	 (the temperature gradient in the earth’s crust 	is around 25 degree Cel-	
sius per kilometr	e	)	. 	However, the drilling costs 	mean it is not	 	economically feasible to exploit 	
resources at higher depths. 	The potential is greatest in locations 	where hot 	fluids	 	rise through 	
faults and fractures	such that the resource is closer, or at, the surface	.	 	
There are some studies that indicate a potential for geothermal energy in Satu Mare county.	Satu 	
Mare is located 	on geothermal aquifers that stretch along the border with Hungary	 	(see 	Figure 	
5	.	1	)	. 	The 	temperature of the resource fluids 	is	around 50	-	85 degree Celsius	at around 250	-	400 	
meters	(Bran, 2016)	.	 As indicated above, these low temperatures do not lend themselves to elec-	
tricity generation	, but the resource can be utilized 	for	 	direct heating	 	purposes	. 	 	
Figure 	5	.	1	 	Geothermal reservoirs in Romania	 	
 	
Source:	 	Antal & Rosca	(2008)	 	
Geological surveys and ultimately drilling is necessary for a detailed mapping of the resource po-
tential for geothermal energy. This makes it more challenging to assess the potential as compared 
to other renewable sources such as wind and solar, where the 	resource is easier to observe. 	It 	is 	
too early to 	conclude 	whether or not there ar	e geothermal resources with high temperatures in 	
Satu Mare. 	Manzella et al.	(2019)	find that 	the 	western	 	parts of Satu Mare, along the border with 	
Hungary, 	have 	some possibility to	 	host 	high	-	temperature 	and high	-	pressure 	reservoirs	 	that can 	
be accessed by drilling	 	as indicated in 	Figure 	5	.	2	.

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Figure 	5	.	2	 	Map of regions 	with potential 	to host high temperature and high	-	pressure 	
geothermal reservoirs.	 	
 	
Source:	 	Manzella et al. 	(2019)	. 	
5.3	 	Some obstacles for geothermal energy	 	
The installation costs of geothermal energy technologies are typically 	highly site	-	dependent. 	
Costs are	 	heavily influenced by 	the 	quality of the reservoir	, such as thermal 	properties, dept	h, 	
extent,	 	and fluids. 	Differ	e	nt 	types of 	reservoirs 	require different type of 	extraction technologies, 	
plant infrastructure, 	and 	quantity and depth of wells. 	 	
In addition to traditional 	project development costs	, it is also 	important to include costs of explo-	
ration and resource assessment	, such as seismic surveys, test wells, and drilling, 	as these can be 	
higher in geothermal projects compared to other renewable sources such as wind and solar 
where the physical resources are 	tangible	.	 	
The geothermal resources in Satu Mare seem to have low temperatures 	and	 direct heat utilization 	
seems the most realistic application. 	Satu Mare do	es	 	not have 	infrastructure for 	district heating	. 	
Thus, exploiting geothermal energy for direct heating in 	municipalities	 would require investment 	
in a district heating system, which could add significant cost to pursuing this type of renewable 
energy. 	More single	-	source use seems realistic such as industrial use of geothermal heat. 	 	
There might also be some environmental costs	 	depending on the technology used in extraction	. 	
For example, water	-	 and land use, and impacts on human health through potential air emissions	. 	
Public acceptance can 	often 	be an 	issue	, e.g., with concerns related to groundwater contamina-	
tion	(Taylor, et al., 2023)	. Workshop participants	 in Satu Mare	 expressed concern	about	 the effect 	
of geothermal energy production on local water resources	,	 	and some of the geothermal re-	
sources 	are	 	located in Natura 2000 protected areas.

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6	 	Other 	potential 	renewable en-	
ergy sources	 	
As discussed in the preceding chapters, this report argues that solar energy and bioenergy 	seem 	
to offer the best 	resource 	potential for 	renewable energy in Satu Mare county. However, 	we em-	
phasise that this does not mean that other renewable energy sources should not be 	assessed or 	
pursued	. 	Given t	he intermittent characteristic of renewable energy	,	the future energy mix will and 	
should be	 	made up of several renewable energy sources. 	I	n the absence of large	-	scale storage 	
technologies, several 	sources are need	ed to match 	production	 	and load demand,	 	as discussed in 	
chapter 	1.3.3	.I	n addition	,	 	intermittency of renewables can be mitigated by 	spatial 	balancing 	
through the grid network	. 	 	
Below, we briefly discuss other renewable energy sources	 and 	present 	our arguments for why we 	
believe these do not 	have	 	the best potential in Satu Mare county. 	This should not be interpreted 	
as a definitive conclusion on their potential	, as they have not been 	research	ed	 	in great detail 	
along all the indicators in the framework described in 	chapter 	2	.	 	
6.1	 	Wind	 	
Wind 	is a renewable energy source that, like the sun, is found everywhere in the world, but with 	
regional and local variation in intensity. 	W	ind turbines	 	harness energy from the wind by using 	
mechanical power to spin a generator 	that	 create	s	 electricity. 	A wi	nd turbine is a relatively simple 	
technology	. 	Loosely	 	speaking, 	it	 	consists of rotor blade	s	that	are	 	driven by the wind	. Th	e	 	rotor-	
blade	s are	 connected to a gear box 	that	 increases the 	rotational speed	 to a level that is appropri-	
ate for 	the 	generator. The generator translates the rotational power to electricity	, which	 	is then 	
tran	s	ported to a transformer and into the grid. 	 	
Wind power can be 	divided	 	into three categories	: onshore, onshore distributed, and offshore 	
wind	 	power	. Onshore wind	includes	 	ground	-	mounted turbines with above 100kW capacity	, or 	
utility	-	scale	. 	Distributed wind 	power 	refer	s	 	to ground	-	mounted turbines below 100kW capacity	, 	
typically 	used for residential, 	agricultural, and small commercial or industrial applications	 that are 	
below utility	-	scale. Offshore wind refers to turbines installed at sea where winds tend to be 	
stronger	. 	 	
There are three main 	aspects	 	that determin	e how much electricity a turbine can produce	:	 	
1.	 	Wind speed. 	Wind at higher speed carr	ies	 	more energy to spin the rotor blades 	and 	can 	pro-	
duce	more 	electricity. 	 	
2.	 	Air density.	 	Dense	r	 	air contains more mass and will exert more 	lift	 	on the rotors, resulting in 	
higher power 	production	. 	In general, air 	density decreases with altitude. 	 	
3.	 	Rotor 	b	lade	 	radius	. 	A larger radius	, or 	swept area	,	means a larger	 	area 	where more wind can 	
pass. 	As a rule of thumb, doubling the radius can 	result in four times more power being gen-	
erated.

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Wind	 	speed 	is	 	typically higher 	the higher one 	reaches	 	above ground	,	 	resulting in taller turbines 	
being able to produce more energy	. 	In addition, 	larger rotor blades result in disproportionately 	
higher 	power output. 	In the case of wind turbines	,	 economies of scale matter and	 bigger is better. 	 	
The resource potential for wind power in Satu Mare does not look particularly promising	, relative 	
to other parts of Romania and Europe. 	Figure 	6	.	1	show	s	 	an estimate of the mean windspeed in 	
Europe. 	Areas colo	u	red 	dark 	red	 	indicate mean wind speed of above 10 m/s	, which is a good 	
resource 	potential.Y	ellow indicate	s	mean 	wind speed	 	of around 5 m/s	 	and b	lue	/green	indicate 	
very low 	mean 	wind speed	.	Based on this initial resource assessment	, 	the lack of wind speed	makes 	
wind power 	more expensive in Satu Mare 	than in several	 	other r	egions in Europe. 	 	
Figure 	6	.	1	 	Mean wind speed in Europe	 	
 	
Source:	 	The Global Wind Atlas 3.0 	(2023)	 	
Wind turbines 	do not 	require 	large 	area in terms of 	square meters on the ground. This means 	
that	 they can be combined with other land	-	use activities like agriculture	 and thus reduce the need 	
to convert nature land. 	In terms of available land area, Satu Mare seem to have good potential 	
for wind power. 	However, wind turbines 	are large and can 	be visually 	domina	nt	. 	The visibility 	
from public 	dwellings and 	viewpoints is a factor 	that should be considered	. 	In addition, w	ind tur-	
bines make noise when in operation 	and can create a flickering shadow	. 	This 	suggests that	 	they 	
should be located 	far 	from 	towns and 	dwellings	. 	 	
A potential 	concern 	for wind power is its effect on the environment, in particular on bird life. 	
Wind 	turbines can kill birds	, who are not able to perceive the danger 	that the 	moving rotor blades 	
pose	. Further, win	d	 	turbines are more effective when spread across large areas, this can create 	
large «belts» where birds find it hard to pass. 	Local stakeholders in Satu Mare indicated that the 	
region is an important corridor for migrating birds	,	 	which could mean that th	is issue is 	of 	greater 	
importance 	in Satu Mare than in other reg	ions.

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In terms of 	economic 	costs, generally speaking, wind power is one of the cheapest sources of 	
power today.	 	However, due to the 	meagre	 	wind resources in Satu Mare, 	the cost per unit of 	
energy produced will be 	higher 	here than 	in regions with better wind resources. 	 	
6.2	 	Hydro	power	 	
Hydro	power	 can be 	divided 	into hydropower 	with reservoirs 	and run	-	of	-	river hydropower. 	These 	
technologies use running 	or 	falling water 	to run a turbine that 	generates electricity. A hydropower 	
plant 	with a reservoir 	uses	 	a dam to 	collect water 	and control the flow of water	. 	Falling water 	
then runs a turbine that through a generator can generate electricity. 	The	 	waterflow can be con-	
trolled and turned on and off	,	 	meaning reservoir hydro power is 	dispatchable	 	form of renewable 	
energy. 	Water is stored during periods of high precipitation and used to produce electricity in 	
periods of high demand and/or low precipitation. 	A r	un	-	of	-	river 	hydropower 	plant 	is not dispatch-	
able in the same way as there is no dam 	for 	stor	ing	 	water	, but it uses the running water	. 	 	
Hydropower is a	n important 	part of both Romania’s and Norway’	s electricity mix. As shown in 	
Figure 	6	.	2	, hydropower contribute	d	to 	26	 	percent of Romania’s 	net electricity 	production	in 	
2022	.	In Norway, hydropower contribute	d	to 	89 	percent of 	net electricity 	production	 	in 2022	. 	 	
Figure 	6	.	2	 	Public net electricity 	production	 	in Romania in 2022	 	
 	
Source:	 	ENTSO	-	E	 	
The resource potential of hydro	power	 is determined 	by	 having access to rivers in the case of run	-	
of	-	river hydropower or a lake or suitable location for the creation of a dam with a sufficient h	e	ight 	
differential. Satu Mare does not seem to 	have the conditions for a large 	e	xpansion of hydro 	
power. The region is relatively flat and only about 	0.6	7	percent	 	of the land area 	is 	water bodies	. 	
Parts of the river Somes, that runs through the city of Satu Mare, is 	a Natura 2000 protected area.

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7	 	Energy efficiency 	–	 	helping the 	
transition to renewables	 	
7.1	 	What 	do we mean by	energy efficiency	?	 	
Energy efficiency 	essentially entails 	measures and actions 	that 	ends up 	us	ing	 	less energy to 	solve 	
the same task	. 	This is related to but 	is 	not equal to 	energy saving	. 	When we talk about energy 	
efficiency,	 we mean measures that 	saves	energy, but 	not 	at 	the	 expense of 	reducing 	the 	objective. 	 	
For example, 	we might have an objective to 	maintain room	 	temperature	 	at 	2	1	
o	
C	. 	An energy effi-	
ciency measure could be to insulate the room better so that 	we would need less 	energy to 	heat 	
(or cool) 	the room 	to maintain this temperature	, i.e.	,	 	using less energy to 	solve the same task	.	An 	
energy saving measure 	could	 instead 	be to 	use less energy by reducing the room temperature	 to 	
2	0	
o	
C	, i.e., 	saving energy by 	changing the task	 	or objective.	Both are important and 	can comple-	
ment each other	 	to reach the overall goal of mitigating climate change and using our planets 	
resources more efficiently.	
8	
 	
7.2	 	Energy 	E	fficiency 	F	irst	 	
Energy efficiency has become a crucial part of 	the 	EUs 	energy 	targets and energy policy	.	This is 	
made clear 	in the 	Energy Efficiency First principle	,	which 	acts as a guiding principle	 	for EU energy 	
policy and investment decisions	(EU Directive 2023/1791)	. 	The principle	aims	 	to 	ensure that en-	
ergy is managed in a cost	-	effective way and to 	reduce 	the demand for energy	, which will 	help 	
mak	e	 	the transition to renewables	 	easier	. 	 	
The principle is anchored in EU legislation through the 	directive on energy efficiency	(EU Directive 	
2023/1791)	.	
9	
The directive was first adopted in 2012	and	revised 	in September 2023	,	consider-	
ing	the 	climate policy	 target of 	55	percent	 reduction 	of GHG emissions 	in 2030 (compared to 1990	-	
level). 	The directive	 	entails 	a	n	 	energyefficiency goal of reducing 	the EU	’	s final energy consump-	
tion by 11.7	percent	 	by 2030	 	(	compared to projections of expected energy use in 2030	). 	In prac-	
tice	,	 	EU countries 	are required to achieve an average energy 	savings rate of 	about 	1.	5	per-	
cent	annually	 	between 2024 and 2030	. 	Improving energy efficiency in buildings will be an im-	
portant part of achieving this target.	 	
Through the 	Energy Efficient House programme	 	(	Casa Eficienta Energetic	), 	the 	Environmental 	
Fund Administration (EFA) 	of Romania 	offer	s	 financial support for 	measures taken to increase 	the 	
energy efficiency in single	-	family homes	 by one 	energy 	class	. 	The programme offers to reimburse 	
up to 60 	percent	 of eligible investment expenses	, up to 70	 	000 	RON	 (	approx. 14	 	000 EUR)	. 	Eligible 	
 	
8	There is a real risk that energy efficiency may lead users to 	change the task or objective away from energy saving	, in 	
order to 	increase their level of comfort	. 	This 	is 	called the rebound effect. 	For instance	,one	 	may increase 	indoor 	
temperature 	from 2	1	 to 2	2	 degrees	 after insulation, since the costs are reduced	. 	
9	The 	directive can be found here: 	https://eur	-	lex.europa.eu/legal	-	content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:JOL_2023_231_R_0001

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expenses include insulation of roofs, windows and walls	, solar heaters, ventilation systems, mo-	
tion sensors, 	and some heat pumps.	 	
Energy efficiency measures can apply to anything that uses energy, but we restrict our analysis 
here to measures in 	dwellings	,	 commercial	 and public 	buildings. 	The energy consumption in build-	
ings typically come from 	firewood	, gas	, and	/or	 	electricity	. 	Firewood is a renewable bioenergy re-	
source, but 	it pollutes the local air. Heating based on 	natural 	gas produces CO	2	 	emissions.	Thus, 	
using these energy sources more efficiently may reduce local air pollution and CO	2	 	emissions	. In 	
addition, using less energy also means 	spending	 	less 	money 	on energy. 	 	
We do not have data on the energy performance of dwellings and commercial	-	 	and public build-	
ings in Satu Mare. 	However, a	n important 	source of energy demand in buildings is heating and 	
cooling. 	Figure 	7	.	1	show	s	the need for heating and cooling in Satu Mare	, Norway and the EU	. The 	
measures 	are	 	weather	-	based 	indices	 	that infer the need for heating (HDD) and cooling (CDD) 	in 	
buildings 	based on observed temperatures in the region. 	 	
Heating	-	degree	-	days (HDD) 	measure	 	the severity of the cold in a specific period of time	, consid-	
ering the outdoor temperature and average 	room temperature	. Lower temperature	s	increase	 the 	
need for heat	ing	, and longer 	time 	periods of cold temperature increase the need for heat	ing	. 	
Analogously	, co	oling	-	degree	-	days (CDD) measure the severity of the heat	,	 	considering 	the out-	
door temperature and the average room temperature. 	 	
The indexes indicate that there is a significant need for both heating and cooling in Satu Mare	, 	
whereas there is only need for heating in Norway.	Below we briefly discuss some technologies 	
that can improve the energy efficiency in buildings. 	Some of these technologies are also show-	
cased 	as examples for 	bestpractice in chapter	7.4	. 	 	
7.3	 	Some 	technologies to improve 	energy	-	efficien	cy	 	
Overall, there are three main ways to 	improve energy efficiency in buildings	:	 	
Figure 	7	.	1	 	Heating	-	degree	-	days (HDD) and cooling	-	degree	-	days (CDD) in 2022	 	
 	
Source:	 	Eurostat

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1.	 	Design and construction 	techniques	include design and techniques that reduce the need for 	
heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, and other activities that require energy. This can in-
clude the choice of construction materials and construction process.	 	
2.	 	Upgrading existing buildings	can include refitting insulation, installing heat pumps, closing 	
cold	-	bridges, replacing windows and other upgrades that do not require the building to	 	be	 	
demolished.	 	
3.	 	Managing energy use	 	include monitoring and optimising the building’s energy use, for ex-	
ample through behavioural change or identifying and reducing the waste of energy	.	 	
Below we briefly discuss some common energy efficiency measures along these dimensions. 	 	
Heat pumps	is	 	the heat source of the future	 	
A common energy efficient technology 	is	the 	heat pump. 	Essentially, a heat pump 	uses electricity 	
to transfer 	and amplify 	heat from a cool area to a warm area. 	For example, 	it can extract some 	
heat from a cold	er	medium	(either the air, 	water,	 or 	the 	ground)	outside 	of a building 	and transfer	 	
and amplify	the heat to the inside of the building. 	The process can also be reversed	 	to cool the 	
inside environment when it is hotter outside	 	(i.e. acts as an air	-	conditioner)	. 	Figure 	7	.	1	indicate	s	 	
that Satu Mare is a region where both heating and cooling is required. 	 	
Because the heat is mainly transferred	,	 	and not generated as in an 	electric heater	,	 	heat pumps 	
are very energy efficient. A typical household air	-	to	-	air heat pump 	can produce 4 kWh of thermal 	
energy per 1 kWh of electric energy applied	.However, 	output will depend on the seasons.	
10	
Heat 	
pumps using water or the ground as the heat source can have higher 	efficiency than air heat 	
pumps because water sources and the ground are typically warmer in the winter and colder in 
the summer than the air. 	This means 	that	 	the	 	temperature difference 	between the heat source 	
and 	indoors	 	is lower and th	us	the pump	 	will use less electricity to move and amplify a certain 	
amount of heat.	 	
Heat pumps	 	can contribute to energy security by reducing the reli	ance o	n	imported fossil fuels 	
used for 	heating	, and, depending on the electricity mix, help reduce GHG	-	emissions	. 	It should be 	
noted that 	using heat pumps for heating will mean that heating is exposed to power outages	, and 	
heat pumps are thus not immune to energy security concerns. 	 	
The expansion of heat pumps is an important measure in the 	REPowerEU plan	. T	he technology is 	
mature	 	and could be implemented quickly. 	 	
Although heat pumps might be a good financial investment over its life	-	cycle	 	due to their low 	
operating costs	, the upfront installation 	and purchase 	cost can pose a barrier. 	Heat pumps are 	
relatively costly to purchase and install, and the more efficient water and ground source heat 
pumps are more expensive than air heat pumps. 	Romania is one of many countries that offer 	
public support to consumers to overcome these upfront costs.	
11	
 	
 	
10	A heat	-	pump’s efficiency is typicall	y	 measured 	by the 	coefficient	-	of	-	performance	 (COP)	, which is the ratio of 	energy 	
output	 to energy 	in	put. In the example, 1kWh of energy input 	that gives 4 kWh of energy output yields a COP of 4 	
(	!"#	=			
!		#$	%	
&		#$	%	
=	4	)	. 	
11	See 	https://www.afm.ro/casa_eficienta_energetic.php	for more information on 	the program for energy efficiency im-	
provements in housing in Romania.

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Good i	nsulation	 	saves energy	 	
Good insulation 	i	s crucial to	 	reduce the need for heating and cooling in buildings. 	Improving a 	
building	’	s insulation can reduce heat loss and 	the energy needed to maintain a certain tempera-	
ture, whether in winter or summer. 	Improving insulation can mean refilling 	existing walls	and 	
roofs	 	with superior insulation material or increase the thickness of the insulation, 	installing seal-	
ing strips in doors and win	d	ows	, or installing new doors or windows with better insulative capac-	
ity. 	Even though windows might make up only 5	-	10	percent	 	of a building	’	s 	outside surface, they 	
can contribute about 40	percent	 	of the building’s heat loss	 	in cold weather	.	 	
Solar heating	 	is a renewable 	source of 	heating	 	
In addition to using solar energy to generate electricity (either through PV cells or CSP technolo-
gies), it can be used to create heat directly	, as discussed in 	section 	3.1	. This involves exposing air 	
or a fluid to the sun. 	The hot air or fluid can then be used to heat 	the inside of a building directly 	
or 	it can be connected to 	a heat exchanger and water tank for storage. 	 	
Passive solar	 	and using thermal mass	 	
The sun provides energy to the surface of the earth every day. Clever bui	l	ding designs can exploit 	
this energy. These techniques and technologies are typically referred to as 	passive solar	. Many of 	
these designs do not need complicated technologies to work, only mindful planning. 	 	
Figure 	7	.	2	illustrate	s	 	several of these design elements. Large windows are facing south such that 	
the sun is allowed to heat the room during winter and reducing the need for external heat 
sources. An extended roof provides shade from the same sun during summer (when the sun is 
higher in the sky) when the building needs to be kept cool, rather than hot. This can also be com-
pl	e	mented with window blinds.

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Figure 	7	.	2	 	Illustrative example of passive solar design	 	
 	
Source:	 	National Renewable Energy Laboratory	(NREL, 2001)	 	
Selecting objects and building materials with good thermal mass can help exploit the solar energy 
more efficiently. Materials with high thermal mass, like concrete, 	bricks and tile	, have a high heat 	
capacity and take a long time to heat (and cool). If used correctly, 	high thermal mass	 	can even 	
out	 	temperature fluctuations between day and night by absorbing and storing heat from the sun 	
during the day (reducing the need for cooling) and slowly releas	ing	 	the heat during the night 	
(reducing the need for heatin	g)	.	
12	
 	
Both the bestpractice examples in chapter	7.4	, 	the Bellona house	 	and 	Deichman Bjørvika	, 	pur-	
posely 	considered passive solar in the design of the buildings. 	 	
Monitoring and m	an	a	g	e	ment systems	 	
A first prerequisite for an effective management of energy use in a building is 	the ability 	to meas-	
ure	 	energy use	. 	Getting data 	on 	the energy use can identify 	the most important sources of con-	
sumption and 	energy 	loss in a building. 	Measure	ment 	equipment	 	can include the simples	t	 	tech-	
nologies	,	 	like a t	h	ermometer	,	 	to more advanced measurement	 	devices	,	 	like a 	thermal camera 	
that 	can 	measure	 	and visualise	the thermal loss in 	walls and windows	.	 	A smart metering device 	
can 	show electricity consumption in real time	. 	For larger building complexes, 	a good management 	
system can effectively 	redistribute surplus heat to parts 	of the building 	where it is needed. The 	
Bellona house, described in 	section 	7.4.1	 below	, is part of a larger building complex with a	n	energy 	
central	and is a good example of this. 	 	
 	
12	 If done incorrectly, the same characteristics can have the opposite unwanted effect.

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7.4	 	Bestpractice example	s	 	
Below, we present two bestpractice examples from Norway, where energy efficiency played a 
key 	role 	in the design, construction, and 	management of the building	 	in question	. 	The compre-	
hensive training session in Norway 	for the Romanian delegation 	included a visit to these two sites. 	
First	, we present 	The Bellona house	which 	showcase	s	 	a down	-	to	-	earth project employing 	well	-	
known technologies	.Second, we present the 	public library in Oslo, 	Deichman Bjørvika	, which was 	
a project requiring tailor	-	made solutions. 	 	
7.4.1	 	The Bellona house 	–	 	Norway	’	s first 	A	-	class office building	 	
Bellona	 	is a 	non	-	profit 	NGO	 	focusing on environmental issues. 	When they needed a new office, 	
they decided 	to 	put 	high demands for an energy efficient 	building	,	 	to set an example for others 	
to follow. 	Together with the developer	Aspelin Ramm	, 	they creat	ed	 	an office 	building 	that would 	
satisfy the demands for energy class A in the Norwegian	 classification scheme.	
13	
At its completion 	
in 201	0	, it was the first	 	office 	building 	in Norway with energy class A. They achieved this using 	
only technologies 	that	 	were well known at the time	. 	 	
Some energy efficient features 	of the building 	included	:	 	
•	 	Solar water	-	heaters on the south façade	.	 	
•	 	An energy 	centre	 	to redistribute surplus heat	 	to neighbouring buildings	.	 	
•	 	Geothermal wells	.	 	
•	 	Control system for ventilation, heating, cooling and light through motion and CO	2	 	sensors	.	 	
•	 	A ventilation system that reuses heat	.	 	
•	 	Thermal mass through exposed concrete	.	 	
•	 	Few and 	well insulated windows	.	 	
•	 	Heat pumps	.	 	
The south	-	facing façade has two main functions: 	to 	capture solar heat and 	to 	reduce direct sun-	
light in the office. 	The windows 	are 	equipped with 	automatic 	bl	i	ndersand are 	tilted 	outward 	to 	
reduce direct sunlight when 	the sun is at its highest and strongest	, and thus reducing the need 	
for 	cooling	 	in the summer. 	The	re are 291	m	
2	
 	of	 	solar heaters mounted above the 	tilted windows	, 	
with 	350 litres of circulating water. The water is heated by the sun and circulated in radiators	 that 	
heat the office space. The surplus heat is transferred to the 	energy centr	e	 	where it is distributed 	
to 	other 	connected buildings	. 	 	
The energy centr	e	supplies the Bellona house and neighbouring buildings with 	heating and cool-	
ing	. The centr	e	is based on	 	geothermal wells	, 	solar heating	,	 	and 	district heating.	There are 14 ge-	
othermal wells that are 300 meters deep. The	y are used for heating in the winter and cooling in 	
the summer through heat pumps. 	The energy centr	e	 	is connected to the district heating system 	
in the city of Oslo	, which supplies the building complex when the solar heating is insufficient. 	 	
 	
13	The classification scheme ranks 	a building 	on the need for energy per square meter	 based on normal use. The 	scale 	
is 	from 	A to G	, where A is the highest.

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The solar heaters provide 	79	percent	 	of 	energy 	need for hot water and 23	percent	 	of the 	energy 	
need for heating	. The heat pumps contribute 	14	 	percent	 	of the 	energy	 	for hot water and 	50	per-	
cent	 of the 	energy 	for heating. 	The district heating contributes the remaining 27	 percent	 for 	heat-	
ing 	and 7	 	percent	 	of 	hot 	water.	 	
Lighting, 	heat,	 	and ventilation are automatically controlled through sensors. 	Motion detectors 	
control the lighting, while t	he ventilation is connected to CO	2	-	gauge	 	that adjust the ventilation 	
based on the current need. When many people gather in a room, the CO	2	-	concentration in the 	
air rises and the ventilation is increased.	The ventilation system also reuses 	heat by allowing the 	
cold 	air 	entering from outside to be heated by the hot air going out	. The efficiency rate of this 	
process is reported to be 88	 	pe	rcent	. 	 	
Around 50	 	percent	 	of the concrete ceiling is left exposed to exploit the thermal mass in the con-	
crete. 	Concrete is a material with high thermal mass, meaning it can 	help even out temperatures 	
across 	the day. 	 	
The additional measures needed to 	increase the energy classification from C to A 	reportedly in-	
creased investment costs about 10	 	percent	. According to the developer,	 	a significant portion 	of 	
this 	was 	due to 	the i	n	creased need for planning	 	and project management	. Bellona agreed to a 	
slightly higher rent to mitigate the extra cost for the developer	 	but reported that 	they recuper-	
ated the additional 	rent 	cost through lower utility bills. 	 	
Figure 	7	.	3	 	Deichman Bjørvika Library	 	
 	
Photo	: 	Vista Analyse

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7.4.2	 	Deichmann Bjørvika	 	Library	 	
Deichman Bjørvika is a public library in the 	centre	 	of Oslo	 	that opened in 2020	. 	The city of Oslo 	
required	high environmental 	performance	when building the library. In contrast to the Bellona 	
house, 	the architectural design of the building required customization in many aspects of the 	
construction, meaning the costs 	are high and not directly comparable to other projects. But there 	
are still important principles to learn from. 	 	
The building stretches across six levels with a glass façade and large open spaces inside. It 	is clas-	
sified as 	energy class A in addition to being 	a 	passive house	, 	which means the building must fulfil 	
certain criteria on energy efficiency. 	Several measures 	were	 	undertaken to achieve this	.	 	
The building 	makes	 	use of the thermal mass of concrete. 	Ventilation is provided through hollow 	
spaces in the concrete floors	 	on the second to the fifth level. 	The hollow spaces cover the entire 	
floor area. This means that the circulating air has a large contact surface with the concrete to 
exchange heat. 	This exploits the concrete 	in order 	to 	reduce temperature variations in the build-	
ing and reduce the need for cooling. 	Concrete is also left exposed where possible. 	 	
Concrete do	es	 	not have good 	acoustic	 	properties	. Good acoustics are very	 	important in a library. 	
To leave as much 	as possible 	of the concrete ceiling 	exposed	, while maintaining good acoustics, 	
the ceiling in the upper levels 	was	 	partially covered	 	with a sound	-	absorbing material	 	shaped as a 	
“bee	-	hive”	, as 	shown	 	in 	Figure 	7	.	4	. This allows 	64	 	percent	 	of the concrete to remain exposed	 	
while still achieving good acoustics. 	 	
Figure 	7	.	4	 	Bee	-	hive shaped ceiling in 	
Deichmann Bjørvika	 	
Figure 	7	.	5	 	Ventilation channels in-
side the floors	 	
 	 	
Photo	: 	Future	B	uil	t	 	 	Photo	: 	Future	B	uil	t	 	
The building is heated and cooled through a 	thermal active building system	, which is 	an air con-	
ditioning system with embedded 	heating and cooling pipes in the concrete	 	in both the floor and 	
ceiling. 	 	
The building’s need for cooling during summer is reduced by having automatic external solar 
shading on the large glass façade. 	The glass façade is also made up of a three glass layers, one 	
outside glass for better insulation, one 	3	-	layered 	insulative 	glass	 in the middle, and 	a 	frosted 	glass 	
layer on the inside to diffuse light. The load	-	bearing elements between the glass windows are 	
made 	of 	composite 	fibre	 	f	illed with mineral wool	,	 	which provides superior insulation compared 	
to 	elements made f	r	om steel and aluminium. 	A water	-	to	-	water heat pump 	and connection to 	
district heating provides the building with energy	 	in addition to electricity.

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