In line with the EU strategy on offshore renewable energy, Bulgaria is planning a fivefold increase in its installed capacity from wind resources between 2030 and 2050, according to the draft "Sustainable Energy Strategy to 2030 with a horizon of 2050".
According to the strategy, Bulgaria’s wind installed capacity will be around 950 MW in 2030, which is slightly more than current levels. Hence, an increase to 4500 MW installed capacity by 2050 is related to planned investments in offshore wind, a technology that Bulgaria is not currently utilising.
This planned increase in electricity production using wind sources (from the current level of 1450 GWh to 16,660 GWh) will place this technology alongside nuclear and biomass/EfW in terms of importance by 2050. According to the draft strategy, all electricity produced by wind sources in Bulgaria will be utilised domestically.
The strategy closely follows recent EU policies for offshore renewable energy and the Union's ambitious energy and climate targets. The key policy is the Commission's EU strategy on offshore renewable energy (COM-2020-741, 19 November 2020) that assesses the potential contributions of this sector and proposes ways to support its long-term sustainable development.
From today’s installed offshore wind capacity of 12 GW, the EU's objective – considered both realistic and achievable – is to reach an installed capacity of at least 60 GW in offshore wind and a 1 GW capacity in ocean energy by 2030, with plans to expand its installed capacity from 40 GW to 300 GW by 2050.
Across the EU, the Commission's strategy predicts that the installed capacity of offshore wind will increase five times between 2030 and 2050.
The EU supports the idea that the Black Sea offers natural potential for offshore wind (using bottom-fixed and floating technology) and localised potential for wave energy with regional cooperation already supported by the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea. One of the priorities of the Black Sea strategic research and innovation agenda is to stimulate emerging blue economy sectors, such as offshore wind and wave technology.
In addition, the EU high level group for Central and South Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity (CESEC) could also foster regional cooperation initiatives in the Black Sea.
To reach the goal of large-scale deployment of offshore renewable energy technologies in the EU by 2050, an estimated investment of EUR 800 billion will be needed, of which two thirds will be used to fund the associated grid infrastructure and a third will be devoted to offshore generation.
Yearly investment in onshore and offshore grids in Europe over the decade to 2020 have amounted to around EUR 30 billion, but need to increase to above EUR 60 billion over the next nine years and then increase further after 2030. Private capital is expected to provide the bulk of this investment.
After adopting this Sustainable Energy Strategy, Bulgaria will need to undertake significant legislative reforms in order to keep up with these ambitious plans.
For more information on this strategy and the Bulgarian renewable and traditional energy sectors, contact your CMS partner or local CMS experts Kostadin Sirleshtov, Borislava Piperkova and Elena Yotova-Yordanova.
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