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Wind energy develops spectacularly in Romania in 2012
Romania was a leader among the wind energy emerging markets in Europe in 2012. It installed capacities amounting to 932 MW, almost twice as much as the 520 MW installed in 2011, and came to have a cumulated capacity of 1,905 MW late last year. This country is the 10th among the wind energy markets in the European Union, according to the annual report drawn up by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) on the evolution of the wind energy industry.
Romania has a good position when it comes to wind resources and this industry has developed extremely much in the past three years. In spite of all this wind energy only accounts for 5 percent of the national energy output. Romania goes on being predominantly 'fed' by fossil fuels (50 percent in 2012), by water energy (25 percent) and nuclear energy (20 percent). The level of the water energy was lower in 2012 than usual because of a droughty year, the above-mentioned report reads.
Most of Romania's wind farms are located in Dobruja, on the Black Sea shore, where the average speed of the wind is 7.2 m/s at about 100 m high. The region referred to is flat land and poorly populated and thus it is quite ideal for the development of some wind farms, according to GWEC. Another two regions with an important potential are Moldavia (eastern Romania) and Banat (western Romania), where this sector should develop in the near future.