Towards a Carbon Neutral campus – Romanian pilot site visit

Like many other EU projects, E-LAND was impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. Many events and meetings have been rescheduled due to the uncertainty of what will happen next. Despite the challenging circumstances, E-LAND has been included in 23 virtual events since the pandemic began. Even though the project was successful in converting online work into successful work, everyone in the consortium has been longing to get back to “normal.”

“From the project coordination point of view, it was crucial to start the pilot site visits to close open issues and reinforce the timelines and action plans. Physical site visits are needed for developing a mutual understanding of challenges to overcome, as well as to build relations among partners”, says Heidi Tuiskula, the Scientific Coordinator of the E-LAND project.

Smart Innovation Norway, Schneider Electric, and CREESC visited the European Pilot at the Valahia University of Targoviste in Romania to ensure that the progress of the piloting sites can be more effective. All of this was planned in accordance with each country’s health advisory, and only fully vaccinated members were able to travel.

Pictured, from left to right: Dorin Let, Farhan Farrukh, Heidi Tuiskula, Per Gjerlow, Ciprian Comsulea

The Valahia University of Targoviste in Romania Visit Story

“The main objective of the visit was to monitor the progress of the pilot site and discuss the next steps that are important in order to achieve a 12-month piloting period for the pilot site of UVTgv. The visit gave each of the partners a better insight into the technical challenges and the impact of the E-LAND toolbox on the university campus” says Farhan Farrukh – Piloting Leader

Pictured, various assets at UVTgv

The visit spanned over 4 days in Romania where the UVTgv pilot site visit included an overview of the pilot site status and progress so far. The pilot site manager Dorin LET, briefed the visitors about the challenges faced during the COVID-19 period and how the UVTgv team has overcome it to install the Power Monitoring Expert (PME) and make the pilot site ready for the rest of the integrations. This followed up with the visit around the campus area, where the different laboratories, on-site Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and the main components that will be part of the E-LAND piloting were observed.

Pictured, from left to right: Per Gjerlow, Dorin Let, Farhan Farrukh

“It was extremely useful to finally discuss in person the technical challenges and the progress that is needed in the later part of the project to set Valahia University of Targoviste on its path to be a Carbon Neutral campus,” says Farrukh – Piloting Leader.

Besides the UVTgv campus, the team saw the other parallel initiatives being taken by the local citizens for installing rooftop solar and improving the sustainable energy resources in the city. The city of Targoviste was very welcoming to the visitors from Norway and local food was very much the highlight of the visit.

NEXT STEPS:  The piloting will begin from November with the planning of Multi-vector Energy resources on the pilot site. Meanwhile, the rest of the pilot integrations will be finalized, and the complete piloting could begin at the end of the year. In order to ensure a bigger impact in Romania, CREESC will bring other stakeholders that are part of Energy Communities, Local Energy System (LES), and additional actors to visit the UVTgv site once piloting is running to start the replication process more effectively.

We are looking very much forward to the next pilot site in-person visits, where we will be visiting the Norwegian pilot – Port of Borg on 26^th October.

To find out more about the Romanian Pilot at Valahia University of Targoviste, watch the video below: