EU funded project Fruit Garden supports Moldovan farmers to invest in green energy
In the last 2 years, projects worth 1.6 million EUR have been implemented with the support of the European Investment Bank.
Farmers in Moldova are increasingly turning to renewable energy to develop their businesses in a sustainable way, but also to reduce electricity costs. In the last two years, 12 enterprises have invested more than 1.6 million EUR in green energy as part of the Fruit Garden project, supported by the European Union through the European Investment Bank. The loans were used to install photovoltaic panels as well as wind turbines.
Sustainable agriculture
Sergiu Bivol is a farmer from the Cimislia district who decided to switch to alternative energy sources. He started his business in 2013 and a year later planted 13 hectares of plum orchards. Over time, he expanded his business and later built a cold store to store his production. In the summer of 2021, he decided to invest in a photovoltaic system, and within a few months, he was already enjoying the first benefits.
“The invoices have come in and compared to this time last year we are already seeing a 50% reduction. In time I think we will produce more than we use and then we will sell the surplus. The refrigerator has four 300-tonne chambers. We used to pay about 7,000 lei per month for one chamber, now we have paid half of it,” said Sergiu Bivol, who believes that he will be able to recover his investment in 2-3 years.
To buy the photovoltaic panels, the farmer took out a loan worth more than 56,000 EUR through the Fruit Garden program. Thanks to this, he was able to benefit from several incentives, being exempt from paying VAT (20%) and customs duties (around 10%).
In addition, the farmer will recover part of his expenses, as he is eligible for subsidies granted by the Agency for Intervention and Payments for Agriculture, amounting to 50% of the investment amount, with a ceiling of 800,000 lei.
Benefits of photovoltaic panels
The electricity produced by solar panels is clean and quiet. Because they only use sunlight, photovoltaic systems do not emit CO2 and therefore do not pollute the environment.
Experts say that in agriculture, the people who choose to install PV systems are the big electricity consumers, namely businesses with warehouses, dryers, or refrigerators.
“Farmers receive subsidies, and instead of recouping their investment in 6-7 years, as is normally the case, they do it in 3 years, maximum 4. At the moment, only the agricultural sector has this advantage of recouping the investment so quickly,” said Vitali Zveaghințev, Director of a local company specialized in installing photovoltaic systems.
The support scheme for farmers who have installed solar panels is net metering.
“The surplus energy that is generated by the plant can be delivered to the grid and that surplus is metered thanks to the bi-directional meter. Then at night, on days when no energy is produced or in winter the surplus that has been delivered to the grid can be consumed back,” said Vitali Zveaghințev.
For example, if consumption is higher in autumn and winter, but energy generation is higher in spring and summer, beneficiaries accumulate energy in the grid and consume it when they need it. If a farmer has consumed more and has no surplus stored in the grid, the farmer pays the difference, but if the farmer has produced more and has distributed electricity to the grid, he can even sell it to distributors at the end of the year.
There are also cases where the beneficiary does not pay for the electricity and manages to cover all his needs through photovoltaic systems.
Experts point out that the geographical location and climatic conditions of the Republic of Moldova are favorable for this alternative energy source and its development.
“People understand the importance of being energy independent and those who have already installed a PV plant are even happier to have a source that is not dependent on outside sources. It’s a safe investment because the panels have a long life span and require virtually no maintenance,” stated Vitali Zveaghințev.
1 kW of turnkey panels cost between 650 EUR and 800 EUR. Alongside investments in irrigation systems, the installation of photovoltaic systems is the most requested project under the Fruit Garden credit line.
