Romania is among the most attractive 15 countries in the world for investments in renewable energy, according to the latest Country Attractiveness Indices report, released on Monday by Ernst & Young.

The Index calculated by Ernst & Young for the last three months ranks Romania ahead of Poland and Ireland, which are on a par as regards the wind energy score in February 2012. Moreover, Romania is close to countries like Spain, Sweden, Australia and Japan.

According to the most recent government data, the producers of electricity from renewable sources have already started to collect large sums from the Romanian state, due to the quantities delivered in the first four months of this year. The largest producers include CEZ, Enel and Energias de Portugal.

Ernst & Young Quarterly Index tracks the relative attractiveness of 40 countries' renewable energy market, infrastructure and their suitability for individual technologies.

Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services firms worldwide, with 152,000 of employees in 700 offices, in 140 countries and revenues of approximately 22.9 billion dollars in 2011. In Romania, Ernst & Young has offices in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca (center-west) and Timisoara (west).