Establishing a legislative framework for the exploitation of offshore wind resources is a vital step in ensuring Romania's energy independence and resilience. Additionally, with today's promulgated law, Romania marks the achievement of another milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

To operationalize investments in offshore wind energy, the Ministry of Energy will commence, within three months of the law coming into force, a specialized study to prepare the concession procedure and activities for exploration, construction of offshore wind power plants, and their exploitation. Among other things, the study will determine the maritime perimeters that the Ministry of Energy will lease, considering their wind potential, offshore wind power evacuation possibilities, and the restrictions imposed by the Marine Spatial Planning, including those related to biodiversity and environmental protection.

Moreover, based on the study, by March 31, 2025, the Government will approve the offshore wind perimeters, and by June 30, 2025, subsequent acts for implementing the law will be adopted, followed by the initiation by the Ministry of Energy of a competitive procedure for awarding concession contracts. Also, by June 30, 2025, the Government will establish the royalty value that concessionaires will pay to the Romanian state, determined based on the results of the study carried out by the Ministry of Energy.

As a result of this study, the perimeters to be leased will already be validated as suitable for offshore wind energy exploitation, namely: they are located in an area with high wind potential; the perimeter location allows for the evacuation of electrical energy; they do not affect maritime biodiversity, including bird flight corridors; the positioning of the perimeters does not interact with other economic or military activities in Romanian waters of the Black Sea.

The implementation of offshore wind energy production projects in Romania involves not only the Ministry of Energy but also the involvement of the Regulatory Authority for Energy Operations (under the General Secretariat of the Government, which will issue development approvals), the Ministry of Environment, Transelectrica, ANRE, the Ministry of Defense, the Border Police, etc.