Romania and Greece open up to offshore wind farms

This would result in the first renewable energy production projects in the Black and Aegean Seas

It looks like offshore wind farms could begin popping up in Southeastern Europe after reports came out about plans in Greece and Romania to initiate the study and delimitation of marine zones for the creation of these facilities.

This would mean that both the Black and Aegean Seas could start hosting their first wind turbines in the coming years, a seascape view that’s become increasingly common in the north of Europe but is yet to make inroads in other parts of the continent.

Romania’s case for renewable energy exploration

Romania’s push for wind energy harvesting will start with the submission of a draft law to the country’s parliament on the part of ANRE, the energy market regulator. The legislation will seek to define a regulatory framework for the proper development of wind farm investments in the territorial waters of the country.

In addition, by June 2025, Romania will decide on the Black Sea perimeters available to interested investors. These will be leased under 30-year concession contracts, renewable once for 10 more years. Such contracts can become a reality by the end of 2025. The state will provide subsidies for the development of wind farms of up to 3GW.

Greece will define 5 offshore wind farm zones

This past October marked a milestone for Greece when, for the first time in its history, Greece was powered entirely by renewable energy, although only for five hours. What’s surprising, however, is that despite its large marine territory, the Balkan country doesn’t have any wind farms.

That is now about to change after the Greek government began to study the viability of developing some of its watery territories to host offshore floating wind turbines.

The greatest challenge for the development of offshore wind energy in Greece is licensing time since many public authorities are involved in the process and have to issue their own licenses.

What’s more, environmentalists have raised concerns about the potential damage to the marine environment.

Nevertheless, the authorities say that the plan will be approved by the end of the year and the designation of the areas will be ready by the end of next year. Four of the zones will be located in the Aegean Sea:  eastern Crete, southern Rhodes, the central Aegean, the Evia-Chios Axis, and another one will be in the Ionian Sea.

The Greek government aims to develop an offshore capacity of 4.9GW, exclusively for floating wind parks.