Wind turns to gold in remote Romanian region

Strong winds sweeping southeastern Romania have long been seen as a curse but as electricity companies are increasingly turning to renewable energy, the area has become a coveted asset.

Romania's decision to open up its wind-power market has triggered fierce competition among investors, several of whom target the Dobroudja region, described by experts as one of the best sites in Europe.

In June, Czech company CEZ started operating its first wind energy unit in Romania, at Fantanele, 260 kilometres (170 miles) east of Bucharest.

The 1.1-billion-euro (1.45-billion-dollar) energy farm, expected to become the biggest in Europe next year, will have a capacity of 600 Megawatts.

But CEZ's plans to expand to the neighbouring village of Cogealac have been hampered by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, which has set its mind on the same site.

Iberdrola and its local partner Eolica Dobrogea have announced plans to build the world's largest land-based wind-energy farm, with a capacity of 1,600 megawatts. Total investment should top 2.2 billion euros.

The rivalry between the two groups sparked a violent protest last week, when the mayor of Cogealac backed by several dozen followers, some of them carrying clubs, tried to drive the Czechs away from the village.

Security guards fired rubber bullets, with the protest leaving five people injured, while five others - including mayor Hristu Cati - were arrested for disturbing the peace as the project got caught up in allegations of corruption.

Prosecutors said Hristu Cati was arrested for paying villagers take part in the protest against the wind farm.

"Hristu ... is making us lose a lot of money that CEZ would have invested at Cogealac," said Doina, 53, a former local councillor who does not want her family name to be mentioned. In a region where people hardly make a living by tilling the arid land, the Czech investment was nothing short of a windfall - the company pays 3,000 euros a year as rent for every plot of land where it installs a wind turbine.

Sitting at a table in Fantanele's only bar, a beer in front of him, Marin, a driver in his thirties, wishes he was one of the happy few. "Boy, why wasn't I so lucky to have a wind turbine fall from the sky on my land? That would have pulled me out of poverty."

AFP