site.btaHoteliers, Fishermen Demand Bill on Offshore Wind Parks Be Withdrawn

Bulgarian Black Sea coast hoteliers, fishermen, and ecologists Saturday demanded a bill on offshore wind parks be withdrawn ahead of its second reading debate in the National Assembly. The bill, submitted by MPs of GERB-UDF, Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgarian, and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, was adopted on first reading on January 25.  

Municipality mayors and politicians also took part in Saturday’s discussion.

BSP for Bulgaria MP Borislav Gutsanov said that if wind parks are placed in the sea, the tourism industry will be destroyed. "There are no such wind parks in Italy, France, Spain, Turkiye, Greece," he noted. Gutsanov stressed that tourism provides a livelihood for over 250,000 people in Bulgaria, arguing that 1,000 people at most will be employed at the offshore wind farms.

The MP said that the construction of such parks will also have a negative impact on the marine flora and fauna, and fishermen should be supported in their desire to preserve their livelihood. He pointed out that investors will try to place their wind turbine blades as close to the shore as possible because otherwise they will have to invest a lot in running cables. "This will also not be profitable for consumers as the energy transfer fee will go up," Gutsanov added. He described the draft law as lobbyist and said that no such bill has been introduced in Parliament in the last 30 years. The MP was hopeful that common sense will prevail and the bill will be withdrawn before its second reading.

The Chair of the Black Sea Sunrise fishermen association, Emil Milev, also shared this stance, noting that no one had asked them about their position as stakeholders when the bill was submitted to Parliament. "It is also unclear what the position of the European Commission is, given that the protection of bioresources in the sea is within the competence of the European Union. Placing turbine blades in the sea will be the end of fishing," Milev stressed. In his words, the fishermen in Bulgaria are united in their position and will defend it at the upcoming round table on the issue in Sofia on February 6.

Hoteliers' Union Golden Sands Deputy Chair Stanislav Stoyanov also spoke in favour of withdrawing the bill. He said that the tourism industry is also against the draft law and is ready to defend its position. Stoyanov was hopeful that the upcoming summer season will be stronger than the last one and reach pre-pandemic levels of 2019.