THE DYNAMIC OF USING THE RIVERS ENERGY FROM REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA TERRITORY

• Main Author: DIANA BRAGA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cluj University Press 2011-03-01
• Series: Aerul şi Apa: Componente ale Mediului
• Subjects: hydropower resources; water mills; hydropower plants; hydro-electric power station; hydraulic energy.
• Online Access: http://aerapa.conference.ubbcluj.ro/2011/PDF/dianabraga.pdf

The dynamic of using the rivers energy from Republic of Moldova territory. One of the least explored and tapped energy sources in Moldova are the inland rivers. Considering the critical condition of the country regarding energy sources, it would be highly necessary to study the feasibility of hydraulic energy reserves. Although Moldova has no major rivers with a large flow of water, the network of small tributaries of its two large rivers, Dniester and Prut, could be used to a certain extent for partial power supply to villages situated along inland watercourses.The first scientific developments concerning the hydropower potential of the rivers in Bessarabia belong to professor D. Pavel. Around 1933 he was suggesting a series of hydro-technical facilities on Prut and Dniester rivers and their tributaries. Subsequently, in the ‘40s of the 20th century the first power plants were built on small rivers. After World War II some small hydropower plants, built during the interwar period, had been restored and some other put into operation. These include the plant at Dubăsari with a capacity of 48 MW that started operating in 1954 on Dniester River, and the hydroelectric complex at Costeşti -Stânca with a capacity of 16 MW, in 1978 on the River Prut. Nevertheless, the leverage of hydroelectric resources is not significant, only 23 being used nowadays, which is 7% of the hydropower potential - a rather modest number compared to other states.