Associations of 4 countries - Türkiye, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Georgia signed a regional offshore energy cooperation protocol, which aims to collaborate in offshore wind energy development in the Black Sea on Wednesday.
The protocol was signed by Murat Durak, the chairman of Türkiye's Offshore Wind Energy Association, Andriy Konechenkov, the president of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association, Orlin Kalev, the president of the Bulgarian Wind Energy Association, and Tornike Bakhtrudize, the president of the Georgian Wind Energy Association in the western city of Izmir.
The protocol aims at increasing cooperation between these countries in the field of offshore wind energy.
Durak stated that Turkey must capitalize on the success of onshore wind installations and shift its focus to offshore wind, which the conference and protocol have aided in advancing.
Following on from this, Durak expects a target to be set for offshore wind in Türkiye in the near future.
Andriy Konechenkov, chairman of the Offshore Wind Energy Association, stated at the signing ceremony that offshore wind energy should be a key component in empowering Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
The country has made significant progress in offshore wind development in recent years, utilizing the country’s excellent onshore and offshore wind energy resources, Konechenkov noted.
Ukraine's total installed wind capacity reached 1.7 gigawatts as of 2021, he said, although the technical offshore wind potential for Ukraine totals 250 gigawatts.
Offshore wind in Ukraine is primarily considered an efficient source of electricity for the production of green hydrogen, according to Konechenkov.
Orlin Kalev, the president of the Bulgarian Wind Energy Association that represents the majority of the operational wind farms in the Bulgarian energy sector, also addressed the increasing popularity of offshore resources in Bulgaria, which he said was in its infancy focusing on the preparation of legislation in this sector.
'We are looking forward to collaborate with neighboring countries because we see a lot of potential for exploration,' he said.
According to Bakhtrudize, while Georgia lags behind Europe in the spread of wind energy, a significant number of onshore wind energy projects can be realized with the implementation of a market launch and support mechanisms.
