Currently, Romania has just over 3,000 MW (megawatts) installed in wind turbines, most of which are located in Dobrogea. After a boom in wind farm installations between 2011-2013, the pace slowed in subsequent years, and for nearly a decade, Romania stagnated. No new wind farms were installed, one of the reasons for this stagnation — as On/Off has extensively covered — being the lack of a legislative framework to encourage investments in this sector.

 At present, however, many specialists are talking about a second wave of wind energy, supported by the generous funds from the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) and the Modernization Fund, the reintroduction of PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) contracts, and the introduction of CfDs (Contracts for Difference).

To meet its environmental targets set in the NECP (National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030), Romania would need to install another 4,600 MW by 2030, according to calculations by the Ministry of Energy.

In this context, one of the key points for future development is the need for specialized labor, especially since many of the Romanian specialists who installed the first wave of wind turbines have since moved abroad, to Western Europe, where they continued installing turbines.

“There is a need for specialized labor. After [the first] wave, no more wind turbines were installed. And many already trained people left. Many are installing turbines abroad. But yes, Romania still needs specialized people. There will be a new wave of turbine installations, and specialized people will be needed,” explains Giorgiana-Andreea Alexe, director of the RenewAcad training center within the Monsson Group, a company focused on the development and operation of wind farms.

The center organizes training courses for those who want to work in the wind, solar, or energy storage industries. In total, RenewAcad offers around 80 courses for technicians in the renewable energy industry or for people who want to change their profession and enter this sector (professional retraining).

The courses are accredited nationally (by the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity) and internationally (by the Global Wind Organization) and are structured so that 70% of the course is focused on practical training.

“Anyone who wants to enter this industry comes to us for 3 to 6 months, and — depending on the person — they specialize in a certain qualification: blade repairs and inspections, wind turbine installation, maintenance, or service,” says Alexe.

“We also have a small turbine at the training center, where everyone can see what a generator, braking system, and hydraulic system look like. People need to see a turbine, the ladders inside wind turbines, and the rescue equipment used in different types of turbines. All the practice is done one-on-one,” she adds.

The courses are taught by engineers and technicians with field experience (for example, in wind turbine installations). “These are people with experience in the wind industry. They are our employees, people who can teach others what a turbine is. We also have external collaborators from universities, professors, and faculty members with whom we offer certain courses,” explains Alexe.

RenewAcad — the Academy for Counseling and Professional Training for Renewable Energy Sources — was born from a European-funded project carried out through the POCU (Human Capital Operational Program 2014-2020), with a value of 4.7 million lei, of which 3.8 million lei came from EU funding.

The project was conducted between 2021-2023, in ConstanÈ›a and PetroÈ™ani, Hunedoara County. “We retrained miners, and in ConstanÈ›a, we retrained chefs, teachers, who entered the industry after completing these courses,” the center director explains.

While the ConstanÈ›a training center focuses on the wind industry, the PetroÈ™ani center emphasizes photovoltaics because people in the area “are much more interested in photovoltaics.”

Additionally, specialists from RenewAcad wrote three occupational standards and introduced three new professions into the job classification system: “Because they didn’t exist. They were hired under a different job title because in the wind industry, there was no declared profession in the job classification. We introduced wind turbine installation technician, wind turbine maintenance technician, and blade installation and repair technician.”

Upon completing the project, many course graduates attended interviews with various companies in the field and successfully found employment: “There are many who have entered the industry.”

Throughout the project, 778 people participated in the courses at the two centers, of whom 269 found employment in the industry: “I’m sure there are more. There are 269 who sent us their documents.”

After the European-funded project ended in September 2023, the courses became fee-based, usually paid for by companies that want to qualify their employees in different specializations.

“We tried to expand. We opened another center in Bucharest, in partnership with the Polytechnic University, Faculty of Energy. We also opened a center in Târgu Jiu, within the Oltenia Energy Complex, where we have retrained 100 people so far in photovoltaics. They completed the photovoltaic panel installer course,” Alexe details.

In total, approximately 1,800 people participated in the POCU project and the subsequent period. The center's director says she expects the number of trainees to reach 3,000 across the four centers in the country by the end of 2024.

Due to the high demand for free training courses in the renewable energy industry, Wind Power Energy SRL (the company through which RenewAcad courses are conducted) applied for and obtained two new European grants through the PEO (Education and Employment Program) and plans to develop a new network of training centers. One of the projects will organize courses (including practical components) for students, while the other will benefit people already employed. The projects are currently in the contracting phase.