A breath of fresh air: Offshore wind in Bulgaria

This report by Ember analyzes the potential for offshore wind energy in Bulgaria's Black Sea maritime exclusive economic zone. It argues that while Bulgaria has seen a surge in solar power and a decline in coal generation, wind energy has stagnated. The document outlines the economic and security benefits of developing offshore wind, identifies current policy gaps and stakeholder concerns, and provides recommendations for the Bulgarian government to align with EU energy goals and regional trends.

• In 2023, Bulgaria's electricity generation from coal fell below 30% for the first time, reaching 28.9%, while clean power provided 66% of domestic generation. This shift was driven by a 68% year-on-year increase in solar power and a reduction in power exports.
• Bulgaria's solar capacity grew rapidly, adding over 2 GW in 2023 to reach a total of 3.9 GW by the end of the year, nearly tripling its capacity over the last three years. In contrast, wind energy generation has essentially stalled since 2012 due to grid access constraints, lack of political will, and governance shortcomings.
• The most promising area of Bulgaria's maritime exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near the Romanian border has a technical potential of 4.3-5 GW. This potential features capacity factors between 45 and 48 percent and a levelized cost of electricity of EUR 62-90/MWh, which is lower than the running costs of gas and coal.
• Ember's modelling suggests that Bulgaria could reduce wholesale power prices by 45% by 2030 if it develops 1.8 GW of offshore wind, increases its 2030 onshore wind target to 3.9 GW, and expands interconnection capacities with Greece and Romania. Under this scenario, clean power could provide 86% of electricity by the end of the decade.
• Bulgaria faces security risks by relying on Russian gas and the potential of replacing coal with gas, especially as the US Biden administration has suspended LNG export approvals. Offshore wind is presented as a way to produce cheap power without importing fossil fuels from unreliable sources.
• Current policy efforts include a draft offshore wind law submitted in December 2023, which has passed its first reading. However, the law faces criticism regarding the use of Contracts-for-Difference (CfDs), whether to use dedicated or existing regulations, and environmental and social concerns raised by the Ministry of Environment and NGOs.
• Bulgaria is one of only three EU member states that had not submitted draft National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) by the mid-2023 deadline. Additionally, according to ENTSO-E, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Slovenia are the only coastal EU countries that have not announced non-binding offshore wind targets.

APA

Czyżak, P. (2024). A breath of fresh air: Offshore wind in Bulgaria. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/a-breath-of-fresh-air-offshore-wind-in-bulgaria

Chicago

Czyżak, Paweł. A breath of fresh air: Offshore wind in Bulgaria. Ember, 2024. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/a-breath-of-fresh-air-offshore-wind-in-bulgaria.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Czyżak |first1=Paweł |title=A breath of fresh air: Offshore wind in Bulgaria |publisher=Ember |date=20 February 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/a-breath-of-fresh-air-offshore-wind-in-bulgaria |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{czyak2024breath, author = {Czyżak, Paweł}, title = {{A breath of fresh air: Offshore wind in Bulgaria}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/a-breath-of-fresh-air-offshore-wind-in-bulgaria}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }