On June 29, Energy Minister Victor Parlicov spoke to mayors and economic agents from Ungheni district about the need to invest in energy efficiency in buildings and in solutions for storing the renewable energy produced.

The Minister said that the Ministry's immediate priority is to launch energy efficiency programs, through the reformed Energy Efficiency Agency, so that the resources currently allocated to the maintenance of work and living spaces are reduced and consumption is more rational. On the one hand, it will be possible to change the carpentry of public buildings, insulate walls and replace roofs where necessary, from a special fund that is being finalized with the Ministry of Finance. The energy savings will partly feed into the Energy Efficiency Fund, which new public authorities and institutions will be able to apply to later.

For the residential sector, other energy efficiency measures are being prepared, partly subsidized, such as thermal insulation, changing the heating system and electricity network, heat pumps, etc. Certain categories of the population will receive vouchers to replace their household appliances with more energy-efficient appliances, and in some cases photovoltaic panels will be installed.

Minister Victor Parlicov, however, told local elected representatives from Ungheni and economic agents not to rely only on solar panels, because there are physical limits to the stability of the network, and the network cannot function as a free battery.

Such a dialog also took place at the carpet factory in Ungheni. Vladimir Braghis, the chief engineer, said that only in three months of testing the enterprise consumes the electricity produced by a 400 kW photovoltaic park and the management is satisfied with the investment made. However, the official suggested the entrepreneurs to also look for solutions for storing the produced electricity and to control the energy consumption according to the production process, so that the exchange with the grid would be minimal.