Minister of Energy Dorin Junghietu and Secretary of State Carolina Novac attended the “SMART Technologies for Innovation” Summit, a regional event dedicated to digital innovation, cross-border partnerships, and smart energy transition.

The meeting brought together representatives from public administration, academia, and the private sector from the Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine, as well as European development partners, including the embassies of Sweden and Switzerland.

At the opening of the event, Minister Dorin Junghietu highlighted Moldova’s progress in developing the energy sector, noting the rapid growth of renewable capacities and the launch of new strategic interconnection projects with Romania.

“In 2025, the country has over 850 MW installed from renewable sources, nearly four times more than three years ago. For the first time in history, in August, national electricity consumption was entirely covered by domestic renewable production. Auctions initiated in 2024 for 165 MW of wind and solar capacities attracted investments of over €190 million, and another 170 MW with storage capacities will be auctioned by the end of the year. The city of Bălți has a strategic role, as it will be the starting point for the construction of the Bălți–Suceava overhead power line (OHL), a project that will strengthen interconnection with Romania and integration into the European energy system,” said Dorin Junghietu.

The minister also emphasized the importance of implementing infrastructure projects financed by the EBRD, EIB, and the European Union, mentioning ongoing works on the 400 kV Vulcănești–Chișinău OHL, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

During the first panel, Carolina Novac, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Energy, presented policies and strategies for integrating energy storage into the National Power System (NPS), as well as measures for network balancing.

“Thanks to the support of the European Union and regional countries, as of January 1, 2025, Moldova can utilize unused cross-border capacities (NTC) from Ukraine on the Romania–Moldova border, resulting in an average increase of approximately 400 MW above the guaranteed level for our country when Ukraine does not use its full capacity. Currently, about 246 MW of balancing resources are required, including 72 MW for automatic frequency restoration reserve (aFRR) and 174 MW for manual frequency restoration reserve (mFRR). According to the assessment by Moldelectrica, about 80 MW can be covered by existing services, while the remaining 94 MW must come from newly built balancing units,” Carolina Novac explained.

The Secretary of State also noted that ANRE approved the launch of the system services market and the balancing market in May, with auctions for new balancing capacities scheduled for November 2025, according to the roadmap.

The Summit agenda included panels on cross-border cooperation between Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine, energy efficiency, pilot energy projects, urban digitalization, and smart city transformation.

The event was organized by the Bălți City Hall, the Association for Regional Development and European Policies (ADRPE), and the Association for the Development of Electronic Communications and Innovative Technologies (ACETI), with the support of the Ministry of Energy, Eco Energetica, and international partners.