More and more localities in Romania are no longer paying energy bills. The commune of Iclod, Cluj County, set out to become energy independent two years ago. It installed photovoltaic panels, and since then, the Town Hall, two schools, the cultural center, and the sports base have been powered by solar energy.
Last year, for the entire year 2023, their bills were 0. Almost 150 solar panels now ensure free energy independence in Iclod.
“We were the first town hall in Cluj and the second in the country to become energy independent. Now we can see the benefits: we didn't pay a single leu for energy last year for the town hall building, two schools, the cultural center, and the sports base,” explained Emil Pîrțoc, mayor of Iclod.
How it all began
“When we saw that energy prices were skyrocketing, we decided to find a solution, to see what we could do to have an alternative source.
And at that time, we were being contacted by many consulting firms for accessing European or governmental funds, for programs that funded the installation of photovoltaic panels.
But all the offers were quite expensive and did not guarantee access to these funds. So, together with the mayor and the Local Council, we decided to make the investment from the local budget,” explains Claudiu Sălăjanu, head of the Urban Planning and Public Procurement Service at Iclod Town Hall.
“So we started looking for specialized firms. We knew there were also local firms, so we requested quotes. They had the advantage of working faster, being able to respond to all our requests and also ensure maintenance.
We prefer to work with companies from the locality because the money stays here, and the employees, being locals, would be ashamed to cheat.
When a local company brought us an offer for the installation of photovoltaic panels, the total amount was less than the amount requested by others just for consulting!
We asked for a few more offers and chose the best one. We did well because we came out cheaper, and since then, the local company has also been providing maintenance. We call them anytime, day or night, and they come quickly,” continues the mayor to describe how they implemented a project that brings them greater benefits than they hoped for.
Why don't Iclod residents pay energy bills anymore?
“Fortunately, we were able to install the panels on all the buildings belonging to the town hall. Of course, the project was carried out based on a year's consumption history. Based on that, the necessary calculation was made.
We took into account that we also have a very modern sports base where teams from Cluj also play, such as Universitatea Olimpia, the most successful women's football team in Romania.
The energy produced by the panels powers the sports base and the two schools, in Iclod and Livada, a total of five objectives,” explains Claudiu Sălăjanu, one of the project initiators.
