The construction of wind farms in the Bulgarian territorial waters of the Black Sea is planned, which represents a significant potential for the development of renewable energy in Bulgaria. According to the authorities, this initiative is essential for the country’s energy security and for achieving the European Union’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
However, the maritime sector has a different opinion. Georgi Yanchev, owner of a fish and shellfish enterprise and member of the Black Sea Sunrise Association, expressed serious concerns about the plans to build wind farms in the Black Sea. In a special interview to Iskra.bg, he shared his opinion regarding the environmental and economic consequences of the project, which was adopted at first reading in Parliament without public discussion.
In his words, the bill on wind farms was submitted by Ivaylo Mirchev /“We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria”/, Hamid Hamid /MRF/ and Grozdan Karadzhov /TISP/ and was adopted in a hurry, without the necessary committees and public consultations. The decision includes the construction of four wind farms in different locations on the Black Sea coast, such as Shabla, Kavarna-Balchik, Obzor-Byala-Svet Vlas and Tsarevo.
„In general, this is a push by the European Union for green energy, however, it passed the first reading in the parliament without public discussion and was entered by Ivaylo Mirchev from /“We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria”, Hamid Hamid from MRF and Karadjov from TISP. This was adopted in the evening, without having gone through committees and public discussion, where it was voted with several sub-points to install wind farms,“, he explained.
Yanchev stressed that the construction of the wind farms will involve the use of large amounts of concrete and steel, which will be cast into the sea. This could cause serious damage to the marine environment. In addition, the lifetime of wind farms is about 10 years, after which they will degrade at sea, creating additional environmental risks.
The fishing sector, together with environmentalists, restaurant owners and hotel owners, strongly oppose the construction of wind farms. According to Yanchev, wind farms will change the flow of fish and birds, increasing mortality among them. This will have a direct negative impact on fishing and tourism in the region.
„In the places where the fins of the facilities are built, the mortality rate increases by 20%. According to ecologists, these are large vibrations that, in addition to harming fish, the noise also harms people. Access to the fins is absolutely prohibited. In short, neither fishing nor tourism,”, he added.
Yanchev shared that the branch organizations held meetings with the political parties from the previous parliament and received support from the maritime municipalities to stop the project. However, they remain ready for further protests if the project goes ahead.
„Everyone in the industry is against the construction of these plants in the sea. When it passed first reading, we immediately asked for a public hearing, which took place in early February. We had nearly 50 people from the marine industry in attendance – from those who have small boats, large ships and those who have seafood businesses. We received a lot of support from ecologists, restaurant owners, hotel owners and all industry organizations along the Black Sea coast,“, Yanchev commented. He also pointed out that the law was passed in haste before the dissolution of Parliament.
„We were lied to by GERB and “We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria” regarding the repeal of this law on the construction of wind farms, which was the majority in the previous parliament. A week before the National Assembly was dissolved, a law was passed to encourage foreign investments, which is a loophole for the construction of wind farms,“, Yanchev explained.
All representatives from industry organizations remain firmly against the construction of wind farms in the Black Sea, citing serious environmental and economic risks. They will continue to seek support and organize protests to stop this project and protect the interests of the local fishing and tourism sector.
„There is a lot of money for the construction of these wind farms and there will be pressure to build them. But the sector will continue to fight against this project in defense of the region’s ecology and economy,“, Yanchev concluded.
https://www.iskra.bg/category/news-in-english/
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