The Sea, the Wind and Romania’s Plans for Offshore Wind Energy

Against the background of energy transition and of the states’ need to ensure their energy security in the current geopolitical context, offshore renewable energy technologies have gained increased attention. Today, they have been included in renewable energy policies both in the European Union (“EU“) and in the EU Member States, whether we are talking about wave energy, tidal energy, energy produced by floating photovoltaic panels, floating wind turbines and wind turbines attached to the seabed.

Insofar as offshore wind energy is concerned, while some states have made significant progress in this area, other states have not even adopted a specific regulatory framework, and some sea basins have still remained untapped. This is also the case of the Black Sea, which is known to have a good natural potential for the harnessing of offshore wind energy (both turbines attached to the seabed and floating turbines).

In Romania, which is bordered by the Black Sea, the authorities have not yet adopted the maritime spatial planning (“MSP“) despite the deadlines established at European and national level, although a first draft in this respect has been relatively recently published for public consultation. As to the regulatory framework governing offshore wind energy, the first legislative initiative was launched in 2019, but it seems that it will be replaced by a new legislative initiative recently registered in the Senate for debate..

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Romanian version is available here.