Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

NEW TECHNOLOGIES - BETWEEN BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN ROMANIA

2014; Polytechnic Institute of Iasi; Volume: 13; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.30638/eemj.2014.206

1843-3707

Eugenia Grecu,

Global Energy Security and Policy

The paper analyses some of the controversial aspects of the environmental protection policy in Romania: the high level of concern for environmental protection manifested as an over financing of green energy, on the one hand, and the disregard for the environment by encouraging the exploitation of shale gas by hydraulic fracturing, on the other.Romanian authorities offer generous support for renewable energy.Romania has become the most attractive country in the region, especially in the wind energy sector, as far as such investments are concerned because the investment can be redeemed in only a few years.While some countries reconsidered their green energy support programs and drastically reduced or temporary suspended financing for such programs, Romania continued to support the development of excessively generous wind energy programs.Due to the fact that overcompensation is present in all energy markets, the costs will artificially rise and will lead to the increase of prices for products.As far as green energy is concerned, decision makers offer environmental protection a great importance.However, this is not the case when dealing with the exploitation of shale gas which it may pollute the water and would not only affect the environment and the population, but would also destroy the main economic activities of spa tourism in regions such as Felix, 1 Mai or Buzias.The real situation reveals that economic interests are have a greater impact than the concerns for actual environmental protection and sustainable development.Unfortunately, environmental protection is only a theoretical, declarative objective.Romania has implemented the most generous program of renewable energy development from the entire European Union; this work studies the implications of the accelerated development of renewable energy and especially wind energy.Because of the instability of this energy, the need to resort to more than what was recommended for the classic energy was inevitable.That is why the favorable impact on the environment was below expectations.Also, important unfavorable economic effects have emerged, effects materialized in the increase of costs for all the consumers of electric energy and in the emergence of some significant competitiveness loss for the economic environment.The new renewable energy production technologies have brought great and rapid earnings only for the ones that have invested in this domain in Romania.The excessive support of the renewable energy in Romania was generated by the political decisions that weren't very rigorously substantiated from an economical point of view.