The Rural Sustainable Development Through Renewable Energy. The Case of Romania

Abstract

The study aims to analyze the importance of renewable energy and to assess the progress made by Romania comparing to European Union and to targets set by Community institutions. We consider that both economic issues such as job creation or reduction of import dependency, but also ecological issues including reducing greenhouse gas emissions are important in discussions about renewable energy in rural areas in Romania. By using linear regression it has been identified a strong correlation in Romania, for period 2004–2014, between share of renewable resources in gross final energy consumption and import dependency. Taking into account that energetic independence is a problem of great importance for each country, the paper aims to identify unused renewable energy potential in rural areas and also opportunities for developing renewable energy sector based on the resources that can be exploited with high efficiency, action that will generate economic and social positive effects. Our results reveal that Romania has a high development potential of rural areas using renewable energy because Romania has a high volume of renewable resources (sun, wind, water). Under these circumstances it is necessary to adopt the policies in order to support projects referring to these types of energy.

The Nexus of Government Incentives and Sustainable Development Goals: Is the Management of Resources the Solution to Non-Profit Organisations?

“…In this research, we have focused on social and environmental goals while parsimoniously dropped economic goals due to their less concerned with the activities performed by NPOs. Out of several responsibilities of governments, SDGs has deemed a key duty of the government-thereby formulating several strategies to gain it (Aceleanu et al, 2018).…”

Renewable Energy Plants and Business Models: A New Rural Development Perspective

“…A fourth type of BM arising from the study is novelty-based, as in the case of the museum that capitalizes the RE plant by offering hydroelectric heritage interpretation services. Due to, first, the support from institutions and local associations, and later, from a museum network and from universities, it has been possible to valorize heritage that was not only at risk of falling into disrepair, but which was also an unexploited asset [41,45]. These collaborations have created synergies that reinforce the study area's tourist specialization, which is crucial for a region with population densities under 12 people/km 2 .…”

“…(2) the proposal of a quantitative method measure and allocating the energy potential for renewable-based RD in Romania [42]; (3) online opinion surveys applied to local government boards designed to estimate the importance of local benefits originating from RE investments in Hungarian rural settlements [22]; (4) surveys and interviews to explore the perceptions of benefits and challenges of community-based renewables in North Frisia (Germany) [43]; (5) case studies that make paradigmatic examples known, such as the case of the Danish island of Samsø [44], (6) systematic literature analyses of rural sustainable development through RE in Romania [45]; (7) a critical exploration on the synergies and mismatches on the RE and RD conflation in Denmark and Scotland [18], and (8) the opportunities that wind farms can generate for the case of Galicia [40]. These studies, among others, offer valuable recommendations for good practices in RE governance in rural areas, while they also lay the foundations for creating a coherent theoretical body.…”

Local Economic Impact of Wind Energy Development: Analysis of the Regulatory Framework, Taxation, and Income for Galician Municipalities

“…Second, there are research works that discuss the possibilities of local development and revitalisation associated with wind power activity. In the literature, there is a strong consensus on the potential of renewable energy as a driver for the sustainable development of territories [11,12,29,30], which is a fact that is also recognised by the European regulations [2]. Thus, Munday et al [31] have analysed the benefits that wind energy has for local communities in Scotland, while Copena and Simón [20] have shown how payments received by landowners may foster initiatives to revive local areas in Galicia.…”

“…Slattery et al [10] have shown how the installation of wind farms has had socioeconomic effects at a regional and, most especially, at a local level in rural areas of Texas (United States). In addition, recent works have underlined how renewable energy can be an opportunity to create more dynamic local communities [11], to achieve sustainable development at the local government level [12], and to encourage rural development through the sustainable exploitation of local resources [13] (see Section 2).…”