Romania aims to become the first country bordering the Black Sea to have legislation in the offshore wind sector, said the president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), George-Sergiu Niculescu, at the Global Wind Offshore Regulators Forum, organized in the USA.

He claims that by the end of the year the draft law could be submitted to the Parliament for adoption, in order to create the necessary legal framework for the development of investments in the field of offshore wind energy in the Black Sea.

According to a press release from ANRE, sent to Agerpres on Tuesday, an official ANRE delegation, led by George-Sergiu Niculescu, paid a working visit to the United States of America between October 24-26, 2023. The invitation came from the Department of the Interior of the USA (DOI), through the International Technical Assistance Program, and represents the continuation of the dialogue started during the first working visit from July 5-16, 2023.

“It is the first time that Romania was invited to participate in the Global Wind Offshore Regulators Forum, an event that brought together countries such as Australia, Canada, UK, Ireland, Italy, USA, Denmark and that created the optimal framework for our country to benefit from a exchange of information on regulatory updates in the energy field,” the statement said.

The latest developments and potential challenges in the offshore wind sector from a regulatory perspective were presented, given that the US supports Romania’s efforts to build a solid foundation in the area of renewable energy, especially offshore wind energy.

“Romania aims to become the first country bordering the Black Sea to have offshore wind legislation. Our country is a partner that has all the chances and meets all the conditions to become one of the most important and predictable actors on the energy market and a regional model of development,” said the representative of Romania at this forum, George Niculescu.

The ANRE official highlighted the fact that, by the end of the year, Romania proposed to submit to Parliament the draft Law on the exploitation of offshore wind energy, in order to create the legal framework for the development of investments in the field of offshore wind energy in the Black Sea.

“Our wind potential in the Black Sea is huge, which our country must not miss and we have every chance to turn the advantages and opportunities into a real success. Obviously, to reach these targets we need predictability and stability, these things are necessary if we want to take concrete steps in the right direction,” he added.

During the forum, the ANRE president also held discussions with Liz Klein, director of the Ocean Energy Management Office. In 2022, several US federal structures including BOEM (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) within the Department of Interior, BSEE (Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement) and CLDP (Commercial Law Development Program) began active collaboration with their counterparts in Romania and offered their perspective and expertise regarding the development of regulations for the offshore wind sector and the licensing process.

In the second part of the visit to the USA, George Niculescu also had a series of bilateral meetings. Discussions with Geoff Pyatt, Deputy Secretary of State for Energy Resources, referred to regional challenges in a geopolitical context and the status of the offshore wind project.