Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building: Key for the Development of Offshore Wind in CEE

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture from University of Zagreb, organized the first Capacity Building Workshop in Dubrovnik on the topic of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP). Representatives from the academic community, research organizations, regional energy agencies, and others discussed the topic of MSP in the context of European and Croatian regulation, legislation and policy related to development of offshore renewable energy sources. The special focus was on the outlook of offshore wind potential and development restrictions regarding environmental, landscape, spatial, technical, regulative, and economic factors in the Adriatic Sea. 

Center for the Study of Democracy organized a capacity-building workshop on the need for a consistent and effective regulatory set-up to unlock the offshore wind energy sector. The workshop was attended by 26 participants and gathered representatives of the European Commission and leading politicians and experts in the field of wind energy, including Radoslav Ribarski, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Vasil Stoynov, Policy and Legal Officer, Renewables and Energy System Integration Policy, DG ENER, European Commission, Ivan Pineda, Director for Innovation at WindEurope, Tõnn Tuvikene, Head of the Estonian-Latvian cross-border project ELWIND, Oana-Alexandra Ijdelea, Managing Partner at the Romanian law firm Ijdelea & Associates, and Mihai Constantin, Senior Researcher at the Romanian research institute EPG. The WindEurope’s experts represented the OCEAN coalition, in which they act as key members. 

The topic of discussion was the comprehensive draft Bulgarian Law on Renewable Energy Sources in Marine Spaces, which has passed at first reading in late January 2024. CSD has leveraged its analytical work in the project to prepare the conceptual framework for the new legislation. The draft law proposes two approaches for site development, tenders for promising areas and integration of offshore wind deployment areas into the national Marine Spatial Plan. The latter was approved in the spring of 2023 but does not include specific areas for offshore wind energy deployment. At the same time, the European Commission has supported the building of the first demonstration floating offshore wind energy project in the Black Sea.  

The participants agreed that the offshore wind deployment carries large technical, economic, social, and environmental benefits, making it an attractive investment option for the Central and Eastern Europe region. It can accelerate the decarbonisation of the power sector, improving energy security, and boosting the local economy. 

Energy Policy Group (EPG) organised a workshop in Bucharest, Romania, with a special focus of the discussion was on environmental co-existence. The event featured Cristina Pruna, Vice-president of the Industries and Services Committee at the Romanian Parliament, Alexander Simidchiev, Member of the Bulgarian Parliament, Ana Miljanović Rusan and Deni Aguilar Bellamy from the Renewable Grid Initiative, Vlad Rădulescu from GeoEcoMar and Liviu Gavrila from RWEA. The participants discussed that a sound public policy design and legislation, well-coordinated marine planning and permitting procedures can ensure reliable environmental protection and geological-geophysical data. They agreed that highlighting the concrete benefits of offshore energy by the local communities can enhance the social acceptance of capital-intensive and complex offshore energy investments. There was a particular focus on the options for establishing fair auctioning procedures without endangering the goals of the EU environmental law.  

In Warsaw, Poland, Instrat Foundation organised a workshop focused on the grid, infrastructure and industrial development. It was attended by experts and practitioners working on offshore wind power investments in Poland and the CEE region, as well as civil society representatives.

The speakers shared the opinion that the development of an offshore wind industry can greatly benefit local communities if citizens are actively involved in the process from the beginning and if the state pursues a pro-active industrial policy that supports the establishment of local supply chains and helps with reskilling workers to ensure a larger local content in the offshore wind industry.

Ambitious project pipeline envisioned by Polish 2030 and 2040 goals can support the development of various domestic-related industries with significant export potential. This is also an opportunity for smaller Polish ports, which will be used for maintenance of offshore wind farms for decades to come, providing much-needed economic activity in cities like Władysławowo or Ustka.

European offshore wind value chain can improve our energy security and ensure stable conditions for ambitious build-up envisioned by the EU targets, but prioritizing Polish or European local content could increase the immediate investment costs. Careful regulatory intervention, based on multifactorial assessment, is thus needed both on the European and national level.