Renewable Energy in Germany, Romania and Bulgaria: An unfair comparison and wrong lessons extracted

Lately we see in the media stories about the situation of Renewable Energy in Germany and Bulgaria and then the comparison to Romania. Every time a “forgotten “expert” in Germany declares something negative about Renewable Energy, more Romanians read about it than Germans! In the same time all news from Bulgaria become headlines in some Romanian media as well, comparing Romania with its Southern neighbor. But can these 3 countries be compared in the sector of Renewable Energy? Let us see the reality behind the empty words:

Part 1: Germany and Romania

Germany – Romania: Structure of economy, role of the State

Germany is an economy where the State is way less involved comparing to Romania. The rules are set for everyone and the State does not interfere in the business environment so as to control the result of competition, but only to make sure that the rules are kept. I hope that the Romanian State will become one day the same, but you know better than me what the situation is nowadays.

Germany – Romania: Planning the future of economy

In Germany the State plans for the years to come. In Romania usually it plans for the weeks or months to come (and then we will see)

Germany – Romania: Nuclear plants

Germany has decided to shut down its nuclear plants. Romania is planning to build more.

Germany – Romania: Consumption needs – level of economy

Germany has enormous energy consumption needs. The level of its economy is grown and the income per capita is among the highest in Europe and the world. Romania has the potential to rise, but it needs some decades to reach the actual German level.

Germany – Romania: Respecting the investors

In Germany the investor is someone sacred: He brings his money in the country, hires people, strengthens the economy and the German competitiveness. The rules never change for an investor in Germany. In Romania, due to many frustrations and unpleasant experiences, the investor is usually not welcome, in many situations people tend to believe that “investing means that you will earn so much that you have to pay and also even if the rules change, you should not complain”.

Germany – Romania: Penetration of Renewable Energy

The total capacity of operational renewable energy investments in Romania (around 2.100 MW) represents the capacity added to German grid every 2 or 3 months, since 2007 – 2008! Germany has tens of thousands of MW connected to the grid in all types of energy. This was planned in advance and made in a way that it added advantages to the economy, created jobs and competitiveness (the secret for any country to reduce unemployment)

Why Germans don’t pay attention to the “forgotten experts” that every once in a while warn that “Renewable Energy is very risky for the society”?

Every time “an expert” in Germany accuses the Renewable Energy sector, it becomes news in Romania. Why doesn’t it become news in Germany as well? Why the German State and the German society don’t pay attention to these “experts”? In the end of the day, they have tens of thousands of MW to their grid and they should be really worried if an “expert” was telling them that they took the wrong way, no?

Maybe no, let’s see why:

• First of all, there is always the possibility for the German media to be immature and blind, while some Romanian ones to be more mature, environmentally sensitive and see the future better.

• Secondly there is a strong chance for the German media to know who is behind this kind of statements. Lobbies fight for their interests and there are many “experts” who appear in the press to promote one opinion or the other. Someone from abroad does not know this “inside game” and simply reads and spreads this statement. Not enough…

• Germans know the importance of all these “experts”, exactly how the Romanian media knows the importance of the local people. I presume that if Dan Capatos tells to Bianca Dragusanu live on tv that “there is corruption in this country”, there will not be any… political crisis and the German media will not reproduce this statement, checking before to find out who said that.

• German media follow a principle the German society has: “If I do this and save 100 Euro today but it cost me to pay 1.000 Euro in 2 years’ time, I will avoid doing it”. Renewable Energy is not treated only based on “how much we pay today” but also taken into consideration the overall impact in the German economy.

Overall: While some media in Romania try to convince us that “Germans are worried about Renewable Energy”, Germany is adding to its grid Renewable Energy projects with capacity of at least 500 – 1.000 MW per month.

The real example: How Renewable Energy in Germany transformed the country and made its economy a more competitive one

The real example of German economy in the Renewable Energy sector is different. Germans used Renewables so as to become the European leader in the sector, with tens of factories for all kinds of technologies and by hundreds of other companies related to the business. They set the standards for the market and benefited from them.

But also they understood that some forms of Renewable Energy can change their future and make their companies more competitive. For example, they favored the creation of thousands of new biogas, biomass and cogeneration plants.

While in Romania the food factories have to find solutions so as to remove their waste in a legal way, in Germany they use them so as to produce energy and heat. What is a cost for Romanians is a source of profit for Germans. With this advantage the companies become 15 – 20% more competitive, can pay higher salaries, or hire more personnel. The environment is protected and the local community enjoys a series of benefits, including more jobs for the decades to come and lower heating cost.

This is the lesson that Romania should learn from Germany, how to implement Renewable Energy in the economy and society and extract the biggest benefits out of it.

Comparing Germany and Romania on the Renewable Energy sector is at least difficult. Just by copying “some voices” from Germany (according to your interest) does not reflect the German reality.

What is your opinion?

Tomorrow:   

Romania and Bulgaria

Thursday:     

Can we lower the cost of energy and green certificates; protect the people and the Romanian industries, without destroying the Romanian Renewable Energy sector?