Solar PV for businesses: how much it produces, how much it saves and which rules apply in Moldova and Romania

When solar makes sense for a business

A rooftop or ground-mounted system on company premises works best where consumption happens during the day, on working days, and where electricity is a visible cost: one- or two-shift production, cold stores, food processing, logistics, retail, hospitals, schools and office buildings.

The price of the energy you replace is the starting point of any calculation. According to Eurostat, in the first half of 2026 a non-household consumer using 500–1,999 MWh a year paid on average, excluding VAT:

These figures include energy, network tariffs and non-recoverable taxes — exactly what you avoid with each kWh produced and consumed on site. Fixed components of the bill (a capacity charge, for example, where one applies) do not fall automatically, which is why the calculation is done on the real structure of your bill.

How much 1 kWp produces in Moldova and Romania

The most reliable public source for a first estimate is PVGIS, the tool of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. We ran the same configuration for several cities: crystalline silicon modules, 14% system losses, PVGIS-SARAH3 irradiation data for 2005–2023.

Flat roofs often get low-tilt, east–west layouts: in Chișinău such a layout at 10° produces about 1,030 kWh/kWp, roughly 15% less than the optimal orientation. In exchange, more kWp fit on the same area and output is spread more evenly over the day — which helps self-consumption.

The summer–winter difference matters for sizing: a system designed to cover December consumption will have a large surplus in July. Real output also depends on shading, soiling, module temperature and the ratio between module and inverter power. Modules gradually lose efficiency — NREL's review of nearly 2,000 published degradation rates found a median of about 0.5% a year.

Self-consumption: why the load curve matters

Two indicators describe how well a system matches consumption:

• self-consumption rate — the share of produced energy used on site;
• self-sufficiency rate — the share of total consumption covered by own production.

Economically, the first matters more: energy used on site is worth the full price on the bill, while energy fed into the grid is valued at a much lower purchase price (see the section on the rules). A system that is too large for the consumption therefore pays back more slowly.

In this example, all of the roughly 1,230 kWh produced on a working day are used on site, but only 640 kWh (52%) on a non-working day. Over a full week, self-consumption comes to about 86%. The real calculation is done on the measured load curve in 15-minute steps, over at least one typical week — ideally on a year of smart-meter data, complemented by a power quality measurement.

The 2026 rules: net billing in Moldova, prosumers in Romania

Republic of Moldova

• Since 1 January 2024, new contracts are concluded only under net billing; existing net metering contracts may continue until the end of 2027.
• The plant may not exceed the contracted power at the consumption place and the individual ceiling set by the Government — at most 200 kW. In some areas the distribution operator may further limit capacity or delivered volumes.
• Energy fed into the grid is bought by the supplier at its monthly average purchase price (for example, MDL 1.40/kWh in July 2024 at Premier Energy); a positive monetary balance is carried forward for up to 12 months and, on request, can be paid out at year-end.
• The basic rule is connection to the installation of the same consumption place. As an exception, Article 39¹(5) of Law No. 10/2016 (in the wording in force since 10 October 2024) also allows a plant located outside the consumption place, provided the plant and the consumption place(s) are connected to the network of the same distribution operator, the plant produces exclusively for that prosumer, and both have meters with hourly recording, installed at the consumer's expense.
• Above these limits, the options are eligible producer status (for solar plants of 10 kW–1 MW, a fixed tariff for 15 years within approved quotas, with ANRE consent), selling on the market, or a system sized for self-consumption without grid injection — which is also coordinated with the distribution operator.

Romania

• Legal entities may be prosumers, provided electricity generation is not their main commercial activity.
• Law 160/2026, applicable since 26 July 2026, keeps monthly quantitative compensation for installations of up to 200 kW per consumption place until 31 December 2030; after that, the surplus is sold to the supplier at the average wholesale market price.
• For installations between 200 and 400 kW, suppliers carry out financial settlement between delivered and consumed energy on request.
• Compensation across several consumption places is allowed if they share the same supplier and the same distribution operator; the new mechanisms become operational once ANRE updates its regulations.
• Above 400 kW the plant becomes a generation facility: connection under a technical connection permit (ATR) and, above 1 MW delivered to the grid, an establishment authorisation from ANRE.

How much it saves and how fast it pays back

Simple payback follows a formula you can check yourself:

Example with explicit assumptions — a two-shift plant in Chișinău with a 200 kWp system on a flat roof at 20°:

• output: 200 kWp × 1,178 kWh/kWp ≈ 235.6 MWh a year (PVGIS);
• 85% self-consumption ≈ 200.3 MWh × €0.150/kWh (Eurostat, 500–1,999 MWh) ≈ €30,000 a year;
• 15% surplus ≈ 35.3 MWh × about €0.07/kWh (the order of magnitude of the net billing purchase price) ≈ €2,500 a year;
• assumed investment: €650/kWp, i.e. €130,000 excluding VAT, and O&M at 1% a year (€1,300).

The same system in Bucharest produces about 251.6 MWh a year, and at €0.185/kWh the self-consumed energy is worth almost €40,000 annually. The investment of €650/kWp is a calculation assumption, not a quote: the real price depends on the roof, the structure, cable routes and connection works. As a global benchmark, IRENA reports a total installed cost of USD 691/kW for solar projects commissioned worldwide in 2024.

For an investment decision, the simple calculation is complemented by net present value, module degradation, inverter replacement (inverters usually have a shorter life than modules), financing cost and energy price developments.

Roof, structure, connection: the checks that decide the project

1. Roof structure. A structural engineer checks whether it can carry the extra load (modules, ballast, snow, wind). On old roofs the waterproofing is renewed before installation — the system will sit on it for 25 years or more.
2. Fire safety. Protected DC cable routes, access corridors for fire-fighters, distances from skylights and equipment, disconnection devices as designed. The installation is designed to IEC 60364-7-712 and verified at commissioning to IEC 62446-1.
3. Grid connection. Transformer headroom, protection settings, metering point and the conditions of the connection permit. A heavily loaded substation or a contract with low power can limit the system more than the roof does.
4. Power quality. Inverters operate at the set power factor, and after installation the share of reactive energy in the energy drawn from the grid rises — it shows on the bill, as explained in the guide to reactive power.
5. Monitoring and maintenance. Inverter- or string-level monitoring, cleaning as needed and periodic thermographic inspection — a faulty cell shows up immediately on a drone thermal image.

How we work at ESCO VOLTAJ

We start from data, not from the number of panels that fit on the roof:

1. we analyse the bills and the load curve and, where needed, carry out class A power quality measurements;
2. we simulate output at the real site and compare power, orientation and self-consumption options in a feasibility study;
3. we prepare the design, obtain the permits and build the system turnkey (EPC), with commissioning tests;
4. we provide maintenance and thermography during operation.

The same team built the Zgărdești (1.3 MW) and Brăviceni (1.2 MW) solar parks in 2025–2026. If you are interested in selling all of the output, read the guide to solar parks; if your activity continues into the evening, read the guide to battery storage.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and references

1. PVGIS — Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (European Commission, JRC) — SARAH3 data 2005–2023, accessed 11.11.2026
2. Eurostat — Electricity prices for non-household consumers (nrg_pc_205) — first half of 2026
3. Premier Energy — Mecanismul de facturare netă (net billing mechanism)
4. Law No. 10/2016 on promoting the use of renewable energy (consolidated text, published by Premier Energy) — Art. 39¹–39², in Romanian
5. ANRE Moldova — support scheme for small eligible producers
6. Avocatnet.ro — changes for prosumers (Law 160/2026)
7. Electrica Furnizare — New benefits of Law 160/2026 for prosumers
8. IRENA — Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024 — 2025
9. Jordan, D. C., Kurtz, S. R. — Photovoltaic Degradation Rates: An Analytical Review (NREL) — Progress in Photovoltaics, 2013