- Offshore wind projeccts to improve Romania’s decarbonisation journey.
Offshore wind deployment could significantly boost Romania’s decarbonisation efforts if opportunities for a joint project with Bulgaria are explored, according to the independent Romanian energy and climate policy think-tank Energy Policy Group (EPG).
Last week, the organization unveiled a scenario that examines the possibility of a fictitious Romanian-Bulgarian energy island and the installation of 3 GW offshore turbines by each nation. The two countries will be better positioned to fix grid issues and exploit the Black Sea’s offshore wind potential. The connectivity capacity with other nations in the Black Sea region, including as Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, is also expected to be improved by such a project, according to EPG.
Potential construction in Shabla in northeastern Bulgaria and Constanta, Romania, would cost Romania a total of about EUR 8.4 billion (USD 9.08 billion). For 3 GW of offshore turbines and an evenly shared investment for the proposed energy island with Bulgaria, the Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) will be EUR 85 per MWh.
For Romania to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, according to EPG, around 15 GW of offshore wind turbine capacity must be developed in the nation’s Black Sea exclusive economic area (EEA). It estimates that a 3-GW project would add EUR 6.3 billion, or 2.6%, to the Romanian economy in 2021.