According to the report of the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), Bulgaria has 116 GW of technically feasible offshore wind power capacity, 26 GW of which could be utilized in shallow waters. The offshore energy industry can significantly contribute to the local developments in terms of employment creation as well as the formation of new technological clusters. The turning of the two largest Bulgarian Black Sea ports, Varna and Burgas, into decarbonization hubs would support offshore wind industry formation, CSD also noted. “Nevertheless, current national strategic document roadmaps fail to recognize the potential of Bulgarian maritime territories for the decarbonization of the energy sector. As a consequence, the lack of strategic orientation towards offshore wind energy development reflects on maritime spatial planning and energy grid development roadmaps,” CSD said.
According to the World Bank report, the total technically viable wind energy potential of the Black Sea is 435 GW which puts Bulgaria’s CSD-assessed offshore potential at almost 27% of the total. However, Bulgaria currently has only 0.7 GW of installed onshore wind capacity. An increase to 0.89 GW by 2030 is envisaged in the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP).
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Bulgaria offshore wind Photo by Mary Ray on Unsplash
