Romania, US discuss potential cooperation on offshore wind resources

Romanian and American officials discussed on November 11, in Washington, about a possible bilateral collaboration for the installation of offshore wind farms in the Black Sea, in the broader context of the bilateral cooperation in the field of energy, with particular attention to the implementation of the Intergovernmental Agreement for cooperation on Romania’s nuclear power program signed last year.

“The two sides also discussed potential cooperation on offshore wind resources,” according to a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released after political consultations between Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu and US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on November 8.

Under a study by Energy Policy Group, Romania’s offshore wind sector has estimated total potential natural capacity of 94 GW, out of which 22 GW could be installed as fixed turbines, leading to a total Annual Energy Production (AEP) of 239 TWh, with 54.4 TWh from fixed turbines.

The data analysed in the report show that wind speeds increase with the distance to the shore, with only the central part of the deep-water sector having more sizeable mean wind speeds (close to 7 m/s).

A large part of Romania’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) consists of a deep-water area (>50 m) that is more suitable for floating platforms.

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