The Ministry of Energy has published for public consultation the draft Government Decision setting out the rules for the concession of offshore wind areas in the Black Sea, together with the documentation that will underpin future competitive procedures. The package includes the concession rules, the model concession agreement, the bid evaluation methodology, the methodology for royalties and fees, and the terms of reference. Adoption of the act is required before Romania can launch its first competitive concession procedure for offshore wind areas in the Romanian Black Sea sector.
Who can enter the race?
The procedure will be open both to individual economic operators and to associations and consortia. Candidates will have to demonstrate technical and professional capability, economic and financial capacity, relevant experience, and compliance with eligibility and integrity requirements. Prequalification will be based on a pass/fail system, and only bidders that pass this stage will be allowed to submit a full bid.
The documents allow participation through consortia and SPV structures and take into account experience in offshore wind projects, large-scale energy infrastructure, comparable offshore projects, and relevant maritime or industrial infrastructure.
A few weeks ago, the Ministry of Energy proposed for concession six offshore wind areas and development zones, with an estimated combined capacity of 11.5 GW and a total area of around 4,000 square kilometres in the Romanian Black Sea sector.
For the first round, the methodology also provides for the possibility that a bidder, either individually or together with entities belonging to the same group, may be awarded no more than one area.
How will the winning bids be selected?
The award procedure will not be a simple price competition. The evaluation will look at implementation capability, the realism of the project, financial sustainability, efficient use of the area, and the economic and industrial contribution.
The methodology places explicit emphasis on viable and bankable projects capable of reaching financial close and effective implementation.
The financial component also includes an optional concession premium. Under the published scoring grid, this can be worth up to 20 points, while the firmness of financial resources for the development stage is worth 12 points and the robustness of the financial plan and its consistency with the technical offer another 8 points. The premium will be capped in the tender documentation.
At the same time, the documents introduce criteria that go beyond the project itself. The contract requires reporting on the origin of key components and includes obligations relating to supply-chain resilience, sustainability, and skills development for net-zero technologies.
No guaranteed grid connection or access to future support schemes
The winner receives the right to use the area for the development, construction and operation of the offshore wind project, under the conditions established through the competitive procedure and the contract. Award of the area does not automatically amount to securing grid connection. The rules specify that information on grid connection and possible connection options is indicative only and does not confer a firm right or a guaranteed connection position.
Any future support mechanism will also be treated separately. The terms of reference present the concession as a first stage and mention the possibility of a Contract for Difference, while making clear that any support mechanism will be regulated separately.
The contract also allows for technical optimisation of the project. It provides for the possibility of overplanting, meaning installed capacity above the contracted grid connection capacity, provided that the power exported to the grid remains within the contracted connection limit and the required approvals are obtained.
Obligations that come with the concession
The concessionaire will assume obligations covering the entire project lifecycle, from development through operation and decommissioning. The contract requires compliance with the parameters committed to in the bid, the provision of guarantees, the submission of data and reports to the Ministry of Energy, as well as environmental protection and decommissioning obligations.
The contract may run for up to 30 years, with a single extension of no more than 10 years. Decommissioning is included within the concession term, and the contract requires the decommissioning plan to be updated at least five years before the end of commercial operation, with the works completed before the contract expires.
The financial regime is also structured around the different stages of the project. The documents provide for an offshore royalty during operation, a development-stage fee, an operation-stage fee, financial guarantees and a concession premium. The royalty base starts from revenues generated by commercial operation and may include, subject to the methodology, revenues from electricity sales, CfD payments received, guarantees of origin and certain revenues linked to co-located activities.
The timetable for the concession rounds has not yet been fixed. The Ministry will be able to set the pace of the procedures depending on the availability of offshore areas, grid connection capacity, national renewable-energy targets, and the applicable technical and economic conditions.
Through the documents now under consultation, Romania is defining for the first time the concrete mechanism through which developers will be selected for offshore wind areas. The next steps will depend on the final form of the tender documentation, the economic parameters of the concession and the timetable for the first award round.
Comments and proposals may be submitted until 27 August 2026, while the documents are available on the Ministry of Energy website.