Chișinău hospital solar panels have produced no electricity
The solar panels on the roof of a Chișinău hospital on Pushkin Street have still not generated a single kilowatt-hour of electricity, one year after they were installed.
The contract to install the solar power station was signed by the Ministry of Health with the contractor back in May. The contractor carried out the work properly, and by September the facility had been installed and was ready to be put into operation.
But it was not put into operation. For a year now, the panels have been shining beautifully in the sun while bringing no benefit at all. The money spent was hardly insignificant either: almost 2.75 million lei.
The reason is bureaucratic delay. While the documentation was being prepared, the legislation changed, and for some reason the documents could not simply be amended to reflect the new rules. The updated regulatory framework required new checks and the preparation of new paperwork.
Bureaucracy leaves taxpayers paying
Now, finally, a year later, the documents are being reviewed by ANRE. But even if that review is successful, it will not mark the end of the bureaucratic marathon. The next stage will be approval from the telecommunications operator, and only after that will the power station be able to enter service.
In the meantime, the expensive panels continue to stand uselessly in the open air, absorbing every surprise the weather brings. Accountants continue to calculate depreciation charges on them, and taxpayers continue to pay for them.
The Chișinău hospital solar panels have therefore become another monument to bureaucratic efficiency in reverse: a completed project that exists physically, cost millions, and yet cannot perform the one task for which it was installed. The bureaucrats, meanwhile, are still coordinating approvals for a second year.
