The State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Carolina Novac, participated last week in the 13th International Energy Forum for Sustainable Development, IFESD-13, an important event in the context of the global energy transition and the digitalization of the energy sector, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) in Bangkok. Specifically, the State Secretary had a direct contribution to the Capacity Building Workshop on Digitalization in Energy, at the invitation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

 

As Vice-Chair of the UNECE Committee on Sustainability, Carolina Novac had the opportunity to discuss the importance of digitalization in the energy transition process, but also about the concrete measures that different states are implementing to facilitate the integration of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs.

 

“Beyond implementing bidirectional smart meters and promoting energy communities, it is necessary to ensure peer-to-peer mechanisms that allow consumers and prosumers to exchange or share excess renewable energy through a digital platform,” Carolina Novac emphasized during the workshop.

 

The Secretary of State also addressed the topic of electric mobility, emphasizing the importance of vehicle-to-grid mechanisms that allow electric vehicles to be not only energy consumers, but also suppliers.

 

“The future of green transport should not only refer to electrification, but also to the intelligent use of resources and sustainability. Vehicle-to-grid mechanisms would be a promising solution for integrating electric transport into energy networks,” Carolina Novac added.

 

The State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy also spoke about the strengthening of the functioning of the National Information Systems in our country in the field of energy efficiency, but also about the importance of using them in a transparent and reliable manner for better implementation and monitoring of the programs under implementation such as EcoVoucher and the Energy Efficiency Fund in the Residential Sector in Moldova.

 

Carolina Novac also had several working meetings with the UNECE leadership, as well as other officials, including Juergen Keinhorst, Head of Department at the Federal Ministry of the Environment of Germany, to discuss international sustainability and digitalization initiatives in the energy field.

 

Carolina Novac thanked the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe for organizing the event at the highest level, which provided a valuable opportunity to discuss the challenges and common efforts in the region in terms of strengthening the energy transition.

 

The capacity building workshop on digitalization in energy discussed the impact of the shift from centralized energy systems to distributed economies, where consumers are not only energy users but also prosumers, and energy can be shared between consumers, stored or returned to the grid.

 

Participants also discussed the efficient and sustainable integration of renewable energy, storage and the use of modern technologies to support the resilience and accessibility of energy services.