Future Offshore Wind Potential and Turbine Performance in the Romanian Black Sea

In the context of accelerating global warming and the European Union’s objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, offshore wind energy serves as a vital strategy in the transition to a low-carbon energy process. One of the main objectives of this paper is to analyze the expected dynamics of wind power in the Black Sea. Further, an evaluation of the technical feasibility and performance of offshore wind turbines under future climate projections up to 2050 is performed. For this study, wind data were obtained from the CORDEX regional climate database, under the RCP 4.5 scenario, for a 25-year period (2026–2050) at nine locations in the Black Sea, situated at water depths ranging from 40 m to 120 m. The assessment examined six different commercial offshore wind turbines, with rated capacities between 2.3 MW and 6.3 MW and designed for a hub height of 100 m, based on the characterized wind potential identified at the selected sites. The proposed methodology integrates regional climate projections with turbine performance to provide a forward-looking assessment of offshore wind potential in the Romanian Black Sea area. The results focus on the comparative performance of the selected wind turbines in the nine examined locations, highlighting the differences in the energy field and efficiency depending on the wind conditions and the water depths.