Romania, the first country on the Black Sea with a regulatory framework for offshore wind energy

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, promulgated the Law on Offshore Wind Energy on Tuesday. In 30 days, on May 30, the offshore wind law will come into effect.

Sebastian Burduja, Minister of Energy: “Through the law offshore wind energy, Romania has reconfirmed its role as a regional leader and an example of good practice in the field of energy. From today we enter the straight line, and by 2032 we will have in the National Energy System the first MW of electricity produced by using wind resources from the Black Sea. I am honored that, in my mandate as Minister of Energy, Romania is taking the first steps to exploit its wind potential in the Black Sea: 76 GW of installed power. In the coming period, the priority for the Ministry of Energy is to start as soon as possible the activities leading up to the tender for the assignment of offshore wind farms. We keep our word, as we promised from the first day of the mandate: safe, green and cheap energy for all Romanians“.

For the operationalization of investments in offshore wind energy, the Ministry of Energy will start, within 3 months from the entry into force of the law, a specialized study on the basis of which the concession procedure and exploration activities, construction of offshore wind power plants will be prepared and their exploitation. Among other things, the study will determine the maritime perimeters that the Ministry of Energy will concession, taking into account: their wind potential, the possibilities for the evacuation of offshore wind electricity, as well as the restrictions imposed by the Maritime Space Development Plan, including those in matter of protecting biodiversity and the environment.

Based on the study, by March 31, 2025, the Government will approve the offshore wind perimeters, and by June 30, 2025, the subsequent law enforcement acts, after which the Ministry of Energy will initiate a competitive procedure for awarding concession contracts . Until June 30, 2025, the Government will also adopt the amount of the royalty that the concessionaires will pay to the Romanian state, this being determined based on the results of the study carried out by the Ministry of Energy.

As a result of this study, the perimeters that will be put out for concession will already be validated as being compliant for the exploitation of offshore wind energy, namely:

(a) is located in an area with high wind potential;

(b) the location of the perimeter allows the evacuation of electricity;

(c) does not affect marine biodiversity, including bird flyways;

(d) the positioning of the perimeters does not interact with other economic or military activities in the Romanian area of ​​the Black Sea.

The implementation of offshore wind energy production projects in Romania involves not only the competition of the Ministry of Energy, but also that of the Competent Authority for the Regulation of Operations (located under the SGG, the one that will issue the development approvals), the Ministry of the Environment, Transelectrica, ANRE, Ministry of Defense, Border Police, etc.