Electricity in Moldova in 2024/2025
Over the recent 12-month period extending from September 2024 through August 2025, Moldova's electricity consumption has heavily relied on fossil fuels and net imports. More than half of the country's electricity consumption—approximately 59%—came from gas, causing concern due to the associated environmental implications such as climate change and air pollution. Meanwhile, net imports contributed almost a third or roughly 31% of the electricity supply. In terms of clean energy, Moldova has made some progress, with nearly 10% of its electricity coming from low-carbon sources. Hydropower contributed the largest portion of this at just over 5%, followed by solar and wind, which together make up slightly more than 4%. This indicates that while there has been a push for low-carbon energy sources, their contribution remains minimal compared to fossil-based energy.
Is Electricity Growing in Moldova?
When examining whether electricity consumption is growing in Moldova, the data portrays a rather disconcerting picture. The latest figures show a total electricity consumption of 1576 kWh per person in 2025, an alarming reduction from the historic record of 3644 kWh per person in 1990. This marks a decline of 2068 kWh per person, indicating a significant downturn in consumption levels. Furthermore, low-carbon electricity generation has also dwindled. In 2025, low-carbon generation stood at 155 kWh per person, which is down by 44 kWh from the previous record in 2023. The decline reflects challenges in scaling up low-carbon electricity generation, an issue that demands urgent attention to ensure sustainable growth in electricity consumption.
Suggestions
To foster an increase in low-carbon electricity generation, Moldova can take valuable lessons from various successful regions. Countries like France and Slovakia exhibit impressive strategies in nuclear energy, generating 69% and 64% of their electricity from nuclear, respectively. Emulating such countries by investing in nuclear energy could substantially boost Moldova's clean energy output. In addition, drawing inspiration from countries like Lebanon, which has a solar contribution of 31%, Moldova has the opportunity to enhance its solar infrastructure. This combined approach of developing both solar and nuclear energy will not only optimize Moldova's low-carbon electricity generation but also reduce reliance on fossil fuels, contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.
History
Historically, Moldova's low-carbon electricity generation has seen fluctuating changes with a focus primarily on hydropower, though this has been limited by its periodic increases and decreases. The early 1990s were marked by small oscillations, as seen in the annual changes of about 0.1 TWh in hydropower. Fast-forwarding to the early 2010s, there was another small surge in 2010 followed by declines. More recently, in the 2020s, slight increases were observed in wind and solar electricity generation, although these too saw some reversals. These modest and inconsistent changes suggest that while there have been attempts to diversify into low-carbon sources, they have yet not stabilized into a steady upward trend. To meet future demands and contribute meaningfully to combating climate issues, strategic and consistent expansion into well-established low-carbon technologies such as nuclear and solar will be key for Moldova’s energy landscape.
Electrification
We estimate the degree of electrification by comparing electricity and total energy emissions. More about methodology.