“One of the characteristics of the energy sector is that it does not adopt new technologies quickly. This is necessary because everything you do in the energy sector doesn’t have to be sophisticated, but it must be safe and reliable.
In terms of new technologies, there will be two major challenges that the energy sector—and we, as technology providers — will need to address. The first is being able to manage energy at scale. Right now, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of prosumers with their respective equipment, so you need to be able to manage this enormous installation efficiently, safely, and at scale,” said Radu Vasile, CEO of Eximprod Engineering, during the Green Energy Conference organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.
Key statements:
The electrical grid is considered by many to be the most complex machine ever built by humans.
One challenge is that we need to do things efficiently. Operating photovoltaic and wind parks requires both smart grid technologies and large-scale cybersecurity solutions.
Integrating smart grids in Romania would primarily benefit the system and also provide consumers with safe energy at a reasonable price.
“We have a pilot project in France for controlling parks with capacity under 1 MW. The distribution operator is testing a program in which prosumers voluntarily enroll, and on certain spring weekends, their production is reduced, and the prosumers are compensated.”
“Two years ago, we commissioned a wind park. This autumn, we will add photovoltaic panels and storage batteries, and our new generation of power plant controllers will be operational this winter, managing solar energy, wind energy, and batteries simultaneously at the same site.”
“Looking at the last 2–3 years, Romania has managed to be in the top half of European rankings in terms of energy grid development. This is one of the areas where Romania has performed well, and it gives us reasons for optimism.”
“The main challenge is working on mindset and approach—an area where we invest heavily. You need to invest and get people to understand what they are doing, from the highest management level down to operations. This is an area we have taken on as a challenge, and I believe that in the long term, it will have the greatest impact.”
