site.btaTourism and Fishing Sectors Reiterate Threats to Protest to Push for Withdrawal of Offshore Renewable Energy Bill

Representatives of the Bulgarian tourism and fisheries sector Monday reiterated their threats to protest to push for the withdrawal of a new offshore renewable energy bill. They held a news conference at the BTA National Press Club to make public their demands.

The bill was passed on first reading in late January 2024 and has already drawn ire from the environmentalists, fishermen and tourist businesses, as well as the Vazrazhdane political party. In a Bulgarian National Television interview in early February, Environment Minister Yulian Popov assured them that "nothing would happen at their expense " and allayed their fears over the impact of offshore wind farms.

Richard Alibegov from the Bulgarian Association of Restaurants said on Monday that the lack of communication between government and businesses is leading to discontent in the industry and they will protest on the streets if this bill is not withdrawn. He complained that there are no details in the bill about how far offshore the wind farms will be built and said that studies show that there is no tourism where there are offshore wind farms.

Yordan Gospodinov from the BG FISH association of the fish processing industry said his association was upset by the fact that no one had approached them. He said his association put out a statement against this bill but nobody paid attention to it. "I want this bill to be withdrawn. Fishing is mentioned nowhere. Fishing fields are exactly where the wind turbines will be built," Gospodinov added.

According to Irina Mateeva from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, bird routes will also be affected. The impact will be felt by the waterfowl and seabirds that feed in the sea, as well as by many migratory birds:  the wind turbines will be an additional and difficult obstacle for them. She is of the view that wind turbines are already regulated under the Renewable Energy Sources Act and no additional law is needed for them. 

Krassimira Katenicharova from the Human-Nature-Life Association argued that no website of an organization involved in building wind turbines says what impact they have. She also said that there is no viable and inexpensive procedure for recycling the blades; that the rotors of the old wind turbines are discarded in the sea; that wind turbines create harmful noise pollution; and that their production has a significant carbon footprint. 

"All of us at this table support a green transition, we support ecology, but not at any price, because this ecology is expensive and the whole Bulgarian people will pay for it," Atanas Dimitrov from the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association said. 
The main concerns are because of the lack of discussion, Emil Milev from the Black Sea Sunrise Association pointed out. "We definitely want the bill to be withdrawn, with no changes to be made between the first and second reading," he said.

If it is not withdrawn, the next decision is to move to industrial action, he added. 

Petko Tsvetkov from the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation said that decisions about offshore wind farms should not be made lightly. He is adamant that first there must be sufficient scientific evidence that they do not have a detrimental impact on biodiversity and marine resources.