How Black Sea Offshore Wind Power Can Deliver A Green Deal For This Eu Region

Following the outbreak of the energy price crisis in late 2021 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, offshore wind has gained strategic importance in the EU as a renewable energy source well suited to substituting natural gas in the mid-term. Offshore wind could have even greater significance for the Black Sea coast, considering the phase-out of carbon-intensive lignite power generation and the need to reconfigure ties with Russia. Despite offshore wind not enjoying high-profile visibility in the region so far, investment appetite can already be spotted. The first assessments of the region’s technical potential for offshore wind are optimistic. Technological advancement of floating offshore wind can further make the case for its competitiveness in the low and medium wind speed areas of the Black Sea.This study presents an overview of initial assessments of the technical potential in the Black Sea. But just as importantly, it identifies policy-related barriers at the national and regional levels. Its recommendations offer a blueprint of actions policymakers can take to overcome them and boost uptake of offshore wind in Bulgaria and Romania. They point the way towards sound legal frameworks that will underpin investor confidence, cross-border planning and panregional cooperation.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Offshore wind power is poised to deliver an essential contribution to a clean, robust, and diversified U.S. energy portfolio. Capturing and using this large and inexhaustible resource has the potential to mitigate climate change, improve the environment, increase energy security, and stimulate the U.S. economy. The U.S. is now deliberating an energy policy that will have a powerful impact on the nation¿s energy and economic health for decades to come. This report provides a broad understanding of today¿s wind industry and the offshore resource, as well as the associated technology challenges, economics, permitting procedures, and potential risks and benefits. Charts and tables.

The book provides an overview of the policy frameworks that have been employed to support offshore wind power, and their efficacy in nurturing sustainable cost reductions across the industry.A growing number of countries are increasingly receptive to the prospect of implementing policies to support the deployment of large-scale renewable energy. The promise of carbon-free, utility-scale power generation from offshore wind farms has incentivised and nurtured offshore wind development. However, the high relative costs of deploying offshore wind compared to alternatives have a history of making it political divisive pursuit. At the same time when many countries are just beginning to explore the possibility of developing an offshore wind industry, many other countries are experiencing what can be described as policy fatigue over supporting offshore wind. If cost reductions are not proven sustainable by the early 2020’s, then government support for offshore wind may start to erode and even completely evaporate in several key offshore wind markets – with global repercussions. This book will provide the reader with a clear picture of the current status and future challenges of the offshore wind industry globally, incorporating both a technical analysis of the cost drivers as well as a detailed analysis of policy design and economics of industry.

Bringing together contributions from leading researchers, this volume reflects on the political, institutional and social factors that have shaped the recent expansion of wind energy, and to consider what lessons this experience may provide for the future expansion of other renewable technologies.

There is clearly an urgent need worldwide to increase the share of renewable energy in the overall energy supply as rapidly as possible. With a well-developed and proven feasible technology, offshore wind power has come to the fore as the most promising means of achieving this goal. However, fragmented authorities and procedures may pose tremendous challenges to the development of an integrated legal framework for offshore wind and the complex installation and grid interconnections it requires. This book surveys and analyses the features essential for the development of such a framework, drawing on the experience of ten countries that have such schemes in place – France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, the United States, Australia, China, Korea, and Taiwan. Discussing the impact of technological, economic, spatial, and market issues on the legal framework, eleven key policymakers in their respective countries contribute chapters that together reveal the contours of a strong and sound legal framework that serves to enable and facilitate the efficient application of policy initiatives and subsidies. Topics and issues raised and examined include the ways a sound legal framework addresses the following aspects of offshore wind power development: - license schemes; - construction of turbines; - infrastructure of grid, construction harbor, and vessels; - environmental health and safety regulations; and - loan and finance risk. The contributors show that a carefully planned mix of incentives and supplementary schemes is indispensable. The essays are drawn on the presentations and papers offered at the International Conference on a Comprehensive Legal Framework for the Development of Offshore Wind Power Around the World held in Taiwan in August 2016. As a major new contribution to the debate on the importance of a legal framework for offshore wind power and grid interconnections, this book will prove indispensable to lawyers, policymakers, officials, and academics concerned with the management of sea space to include the wind power necessary to achieve and sustain renewable energy goals.

As part of the climate and energy package adopted in 2009, the European Union has committed to a 20% share of renewable energy in EUè^--s gross final consumption of energy by 2020, and it has become clear that offshore wind farms offer one of the most promising means of achieving this goal. Although the technology has been well developed and proven feasible, and offshore wind has already become a significant resource in several Member States, challenges to the development of an integrated EU legal framework for offshore wind and grid interconnections remain, among them the lack of coordinated offshore planning, differences in permitting and licensing procedures, and conflict in the use of sea space.

The potential for offshore wind power in the Baltic Sea is substantial. The competitiveness of offshore wind generation varies markedly across the Baltic Sea area, mainly due to wind conditions, connection costs and market values. Especially the southern part of the Baltic Sea shows attractive sites due to higher market values for offshore wind power generation. Thus, there is a scope for better utilization of the most attractive sites for offshore wind power through a cooperative, regional approach. The market and grid modelling show that offshore wind power in the best sites can be competitive already in 2030, and that offshore wind power can play a significant role in the transition of the Baltic Sea Energy system in accordance with the EU long-term decarbonisation strategy under the UN IPCC Paris Agreement. Cooperation on offshore wind power projects as cross-border renewable energy (RES) projects can realise substantial economic benefits through the achievement of renewable energy targets at lower cost. Additional benefits can be realised by integrating the cooperation on offshore wind power in regional grid planning. Substantial investments in onshore grids are expected to become necessary regardless of the development of the offshore wind power resources. By taking offshore wind power deployment into account early on in grid planning, substantial efficiency gains can be obtained. The development of advanced offshore hubs, connecting wind power to two or more Member States, could also be beneficial, and this option should be explored. Efficient regional deployment of Baltic Sea wind power resources requires that national administrative and regulatory barriers such as inefficient and non-transparent licencing procedures and the lack of or poor data for maritime spatial planning, are addressed. In addition, regional cooperative solutions on tendering and support mechanisms, on grid connection charges and cost sharing mechanisms, and on integrated regional grid planning, are important pre-requisites for harnessing the offshore wind power potential of the region. In order to achieve efficiency gains through coordination, a common long-term vision has to be agreed that can be used to identify crucial investments in generation and grid infrastructure, along with appropriate measures and incentives to realise them.

This study presents options to speed up the deployment of wind power, both onshore and offshore, until 2050. It builds on IRENA’s global roadmap to scale up renewables and meet climate goals.