Wind energy, both onshore and offshore, is one of the basis on which EU and its member states will implement the European Green Deal, offering society a sustainable future in terms of neutral carbon emissions. In these times, when the process of energy transition overlaps with post-corona virus economic recovery plans, the efficient use of significant renewable resources available across the continent is possible only with the help of a high degree involvement and know-how, which the Romanian Wind Energy Association (RWEA) and its member companies are ready to bring to the national level.
RWEA is a non-profit organization launched in 2008 within the Romanian wind energy industry, actively involved in national and international policy and in the regulatory, communication, research and analysis dialogue on the expansion of renewable energy sources. Currently, the association has the support of approximately 30 members: electricity suppliers, turbine manufacturers, service providers, training centers, contractors, legal, financial and consulting companies representing 2700 MW of the 3000 MW of Romania's wind energy.
According to the European Commission, Europe needs offshore wind capacities between 230 and 450 GW by 2050, which will provide up to 30% of the continent's electricity needs. A part of this technical and economic potential can be captured at national level. While Romania is the leader of Southeast Europe in terms of onshore developments so far, with an installed capacity of 3 GW, to be doubled in the next 10 years according to the National Integrated Energy and Climate Change Plan 2021 - 2030 officially submitted to the EC, there is little information on the offshore wind potential of the Black Sea coast. In this regard, the recent interest in its harnessing shown by investors, Romanian and European authorities, as well as energy companies can be the trigger for the development of a new field within the energy sector - offshore wind energy.
In order to have a chance for a consistent growth and to become one of the pillars of Romania's economic recovery plan, the new field of offshore wind energy needs an ambitious and pragmatic development framework that maximizes industrial, commercial and social development opportunities, which this pioneering field can offer to a society and economy in full alignment with the fast pace of development in Western Europe. A first document that will establish this framework at European level is the EU Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy, which is currently being consulted.
The inclusion of the Black Sea offshore area in the EU Strategy for Offshore Renewable Energy is essential for the further development of offshore wind energy at national level, and RWEA - Romanian Association for Wind Energy is actively involved in supporting this goal, considering that Romania cannot afford to ignore this new way of generating clean, cheap energy that has the potential to create a whole value chain located at national level, our country having all the necessary advantages to be a champion of this field in Europe, a very important one being the significant funds which Romania has at its disposal for investments in the energy field within the next years.
