DIY store owner Dedeman finished rooftop photovoltaic systems for self-consumption on 38 out of 54 units that it operates in Romania, with  E.ON Energie România and Simtel Team as contractors. Retail chain Penny just signed a contract with Enel X România for solar power plants with a combined capacity of 1.25 MW on two warehouses.

When companies and households begin to produce their own electricity, they change the power system, weaken monopolies and help energy security. Dedeman, owner of 54 do-it-yourself stores in Romania, managed to install photovoltaic panels on the rooftops of 38 units in just one year, Ziarul Financiar reported. Other retailers, such as Penny, are following the trend in the country, too, drawn by low equipment costs.

Dedeman hired E.ON Energie România and Simtel Team for the first round of the project in last April, for 28 stores and more than 7 MW in total. So far, the firm owned by Dragoş and Adrian Pavăl invested more than EUR 6 million in the endeavor. The solar power systems have the capacity to cover 30% of each unit’s electricity consumption, on average.

Dedeman said it would cover an average of 30% of power consumption of the stores that have solar panels on their roofs

The representatives of Dedeman wouldn’t rule out the possibility that it would build independent photovoltaic plants. The rooftop solar panels are only for self-consumption. The company said the gear would have a lifespan of at least 25 years.

As for Penny, controlled by Rewe Group from Germany, it signed a contract with Enel X România to install rooftop solar power plants on its warehouses in Turda and Ștefănești. The PV systems will have 1,235 and 1,573 panels, respectively, consisting of bifacial monocrystalline solar cells, they revealed.

Penny will install bifacial monocrystalline solar cells, which also use reflection from the surface beneath the panels to produce electricity

The combined peak capacity will be 1.25 MW, with a projected annual output of 445 MWh for each logistics center. The two firms estimated annual electricity-related savings at EUR 150,000. Enel X is a unit of Italian Enel’s subsidiary in Romania.