Romanian power company Hidroelectrica as part of an updated investment plan intends to build 600MW of wind power capacity by 2026, including a 300MW offshore wind farm that would be the first ever to be built in the Black Sea, local reports in the southeast European nation.
The state-owned company plans to first carry out a wind measurement campaign, and has earmarked 2.9bn Romanian Lei ($646m) for the wind farm project, according to the Economica Net business website.
The news came as a new report from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank said the Black Sea has a ‘technical’ sea-based wind power resource of 500GW.
So far, there are no concrete plans for the development of wind farms in waters of the Black Sea, which is landlocked by Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia.
Turkey in plans for an offshore wind tender planned in 2018 that was later cancelled had expected to include a zone in the Kıyıköy area of the Black Sea.
Romania didn't build any new wind farms last year, and has a cumulative wind capacity of 3GW, all on land, according to WindEurope statistics. That includes the 600MW Fantanele-Cogealac complex – one of Europe’s largest – in the province of Dobrogea close to the Black Sea.
New wind installations came to a standstill after the Romanian government in 2013 cut state subsidies in the form of green certificates in half.