![Romania electricity production](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Romania_electricity_production.svg)
Energy in Romania describes
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...
and
electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...
production, consumption and import in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
.
Romania has significant oil and gas reserves, substantial coal deposits and it has considerable installed hydroelectric power. However, Romania imports oil and gas from
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
and other countries. To ease this dependency Romania seeks to use nuclear power as an alternative for electricity generation. So far, the country has two
nuclear reactors, located at
Cernavodă, accounting for about 18–20% of the country's
electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...
production, with the second one online in 2007.
Nuclear waste
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons ...
is stored on site at reprocessing facilities.
Electric power in Romania is dominated by government enterprises, although privately operated coal mines and oil refineries also existed. Accordingly, Romania placed an increasingly heavy emphasis on developing nuclear power generation. Electric power was provided by the ''Romanian Electric Power Corporation'' (CONEL). Energy sources used in electric power generation consisted primarily of nuclear, coal, oil, and
liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the vol ...
(LNG). Of the electricity generated in 2007, 13.1 percent came from nuclear plants then in operation, 41.69 percent from thermal plants (oil and coal), and 25.8 percent from hydroelectric sites. It was predicted in 2007 that the generation structure by 2010 would be 10.2 percent hydroelectric, 12.2 percent oil, 22.9 percent coal, 10.2 percent LNG, and 44.5 percent nuclear.
Overview
Energy strategy 2007
According to the National Energy Strategy adopted by the government in September 2007, investments in upgrading power plants would top EUR 35 bln in the 2007–2020 period. EUR 8.6 bln will be invested in the electricity generation.
[Nine O'Clock, issue 4013, page 7]
Climate change
![CO2_emissions_of_Romania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/CO2_emissions_of_Romania.svg)
In the decade between 1989 and 1999, Romania saw decrease of its
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
by 55%. This can be accounted for by a 45% decrease in energy use due to languishing economy, and a 15% decrease in its
carbon intensity
An emission intensity (also carbon intensity or C.I.) is the emission rate of a given pollutant relative to the intensity of a specific activity, or an industrial production process; for example grams of carbon dioxide released per megajoule o ...
of energy use. In this period of time the carbon intensity of Romania's economy decreased by 40%, while Romania's GDP declined 15%. Romania's GDP has recovered significantly since then.
Hydrocarbons
![Gas Balance Romania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Gas_Balance_Romania.svg)
Possessing substantial oil refining capacities, Romania is particularly interested in the Central Asia – Europe pipelines and seeks to strengthen its relations with some
Persian Gulf states
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
. With 10 refineries and an overall refining capacity of approximately , Romania has the largest refining industry in the region. Romania's refining capacity far exceeds domestic demand for refined petroleum products, allowing the country to export a wide range of oil products and petrochemicals—such as lubricants, bitumen, and fertilizers—throughout the region.
[http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/news/nte30277.htm Romania has the largest power sector in south-eastern Europe]
Electric power
According to the data displayed by Electrica Furnizare SA in August 2020 (source www.electricafurnizare.ro), the structure of electricity production of Romania in 2019 was provided by:
1. High-carbon energy sources: 38.85%, as follows
*22.89% – coal
*13.95% – natural gas
*0.01% – naphtha
*2.00% – other conventional sources
2.
Low-carbon
A low-carbon economy (LCE) or decarbonised economy is an economy based on energy sources that produce low levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GHG emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mi ...
sources: 61.13%, as follows
*26.75% – hydro-energy
*18.98% – nuclear
*12.09% – wind power
*0.68% – biomass
*2.62% – solar energy
*0.01% – other renewable sources
Hydroelectric power
Romania has an estimated total usable hydropower of 36,000 GWh per year.
Wind power
Solar power
Nuclear power
Romania placed a heavy emphasis on nuclear power generation. The country's first nuclear power plant, the
Cernavodă Number One located near
Cernavodă, opened in 1993. Two reactors were operational in 2007 when atomic power generation was an estimated 21,158 million kilowatts, or 23.1 percent of total electric power.
To cover the increasing energy needs of its population and ensure the continued raising of its living standard, Romania plans several
nuclear
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
* Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear space
*Nuclear ...
power plants
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many pow ...
. Nuclear power proposals were presented as early as in the 1990s, but plans were repeatedly canceled even after bids were made by interested manufacturers because of high costs and safety concerns.
Besides the nuclear power plant in Cernavodă, which consists of two nuclear reactors, the Government has recently announced that it plans to build another nuclear power plant which would most likely be located near one of the major rivers in Transylvania. The new nuclear power plant would consist of two or four nuclear reactors and would have a total output of 2,400 MW. The feasibility studies will be ready by mid-2009.
Nine O'Clock
/ref>
Romania has always chosen CANDU nuclear reactors because they use natural unenriched uranium which is cheap and available locally and because they can be refueled online.
See also
* Energy policy of Romania
* Wind power in Romania
* Solar power in Romania
Solar power in Romania had an installed capacity of 1,374 megawatt (MW)
as of the end of 2017. The country had in 2007 an installed capacity of 0.30 MW, which increased to 3.5 MW by the end of 2011, and to 6.5 MW by the end of 2012. How ...
* Geothermal power in Romania
* Hydroelectricity in Romania
* Renewable energy by country
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Energy In Romania
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...