The main attraction for investors in wind projects, which are more expensive than conventional ones, are the green certificates they get for every MWh of energy generated, which cost 55 euros.
Developers of wind farms also make money from selling energy on the free market.
Therefore, a project the size of the one CEZ plans to build in Dobrogea (SE Romania) - a 600 MW wind farm worth 1.1 billion euros, can be redeemed in 7-9 years' time through green certificates, with the cost to be borne by the end consumers of energy. Despite the big numbers thrown around, specialists in the field suggest energy bills will only see a very small rise following the development of wind projects.
"Considering the permits issued by ANRE and the fact that since the beginning of the year less than 2 MW have become operational, we believe the installed capacity of wind power projects will be around 400 MW by the end of 2010, which would amount to a non-significant rise in the average price of electricity for the end consumer as a result of the green certificate support scheme," say representatives of ANRE (Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority), a key institution in the process of developing wind power projects.
The main attraction for investors in wind projects, which are more expensive than conventional ones, are the green certificates they get for every MWh of energy generated, which cost 55 euros.
Developers of wind farms also make money from selling energy on the free market.
Therefore, a project the size of the one CEZ plans to build in Dobrogea (SE Romania) - a 600 MW wind farm worth 1.1 billion euros, can be redeemed in 7-9 years' time through green certificates, with the cost to be borne by the end consumers of energy. Despite the big numbers thrown around, specialists in the field suggest energy bills will only see a very small rise follow
