Abstract:

Romania is considered a country with high potential for renewable energy production. Even though in Romania the renewable energy was promoted alongside the energy legislation with the European one, as an EU member state, the energy potential of the country is not fully exploited. Through public policies implemented in the field of renewable energy, Romania has already achieved since 2014 the objective assumed at the level of the European Union, namely to achieve a 24% share in the final national consumption. The main objective of the study was to assess if people are aware of this type of energy and what they believe regarding the costs involved. The finding, based on a sample of 165 responders indicate that their perception of the usefulness of renewable energy increase. Approximately 15% of them indicated that they would be interested in changing the way they are heating their homes right now in order to try using biomass for heat generation. Also, about 75% mentioned that costs for using renewable energy would influence their decision for using it or not. All responders agreed that by using less conventional energy would have a benefic effect on climate change.