Virgil Popescu is talking to all Romanians about one of the most important decisions that affects all of us, and this is because Romania's energy future is being discussed here, the authorities being extremely determined to adopt the law for offshore exploitation in the Black Sea.
Virgil Popescu says that there is a potential of 20 GW of electricity that can be produced in the Black Sea, as a maximum, and separately from that he talks about what the investments there mean, what discussions were held with the Bulgarians for future joint projects, but and what happens to the modernization fund.
"There is a huge potential of 20 GW of electricity in the Black Sea. 20 GW is the maximum potential, and we will see what percentage of it will be able to be realized. There is great interest from investors, that's why we will speed up this law regarding exploitation in the Black Sea.
At the level of the Black Sea, I even proposed last year to the Bulgarian colleagues in a meeting in Sofia, I have now signed with the Bulgarian colleagues a joint declaration for renewable energy including in the Black Sea, to do joint projects. We discussed this even at the level of the European Union.
A project of this kind between Romania and Bulgaria could be financed including by the European Commission. The money from PNRR, if you have noticed, has a clear destination, but here we are not talking about the state, we are talking about companies. State-owned companies, such as Hidroelectrica, can operate, and I want Hidroelectrica to do that pilot program of at least 300 mW in the Black Sea.
In order to be able to issue the guide for the modernization fund, we have already sent the aid schemes for financing greater than 15 million euros to the authorities for approval. Tomorrow my colleague will be there to discuss and hurry, but it is not just about one guide, there will be several guides on the various axes for which funding will be offered.
We discussed the interconnector in Sofia, and we were promised by both the Bulgarian Prime Minister and the Bulgarian Minister of Energy that it will be ready in June. Prospecting in the Black Sea could start next year, and even then we could also see companies that might be willing to exploit."
