The Ministry of Energy has not provided the EU with data on our offshore energy potential. Without such, our country cannot enter the European framework for offshore wind energy development. Therefore, no offshore energy infrastructure will be planned in the country. This was stated during a debate in Varna by Dr. Maria Trifonova, a lecturer at the Department of Economics and Management of Branches of the University of St. Petersburg. Kliment Ohridski” and former deputy chair of the Energy Transition Committee.
The Varna water area has been designated as one of the four offshore wind zones in the country. This is why Varna was chosen as the venue for the debate “Wind Energy in the Black Sea. Opportunity or risk?”, organized by the “Sreda” Foundation.
According to the national energy strategy, we need to double our renewable energy capacity by 2030 and this cannot be done with small projects alone, believes Dr. Maria Trifonova. In her words, Varna and Burgas could become energy hubs in the country if we utilise only 1 to 3 per cent of the Bulgarian Black Sea water area by deploying offshore wind blades.
According to her opponent, former energy minister Alexander Nikolov, there is more potential for wind energy development in mountainous areas than in offshore areas. The 440 square kilometres of coal deposits that need to be reclaimed could be used for the same purpose, Nikolov said. He believes that Bulgaria should bet on the development of energy from the sun, as its potential for development on our territory is greater than that of neighbouring countries.
“First there were fins on land, there was talk of developing nuclear energy, then solar power plants – all big investment projects. Offshore wind energy is now just another cable for the citizen to hook onto as a consumer,” Ilian Iliev of the Public Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development said during the discussion. And asked, “When will we decide citizens to be energy independent?” According to Iliev, the most important thing right now for Bulgaria is to unblock the process of installing small rooftop photovoltaic systems.
These types of discussions, which are not based on concrete data and studies on the effectiveness of offshore wind farms in our country, create preconceived camps and attitudes and polarize society. This was summarized at the end of the meeting by Ivaylo Ivanov from the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development. According to him, it is about “some money under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan that should be taken for expensive studies”.
