This year’s Offshore Wind Installation and Maintenance (OWIM) Conference, a side-event of the Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference, dedicated a session to the risks in offshore wind contracting.
The session was held under the title Managing and Reducing Interface Risks in Contracting, and was chaired by Van Oord’s Theo de Lange . The speakers, and also delegates, analyzed possible contract and procurement strategies and what their impact is on project financing.
Martin Degen , Head of Business Development at Universal Foundation, a Fred. Olsen-related company spoke about reducing interface risks in contracting throughout the value chain.
Mr. Degen emphasized that investors are seeking “riskless” projects. However, in projects such as offshore wind, risks cannot be avoided completely. “You have to take the risk where it makes sense,” he said.
Barbara Zuiderwijk from Green Giraffe Energy Bankers presented her company, which is a specialist advisory company for the renewable energy sector, the major part of whose income comes from the offshore wind sector. She said that offshore energy is one of the most complex industries to be project-financed and gave some advice and suggested steps to take for interface management.
DNV’S Bas Veerman reintroduced the recent merge of DNV with GL. He talked about contracting safe operations and the importance of this aspect for vessels in the offshore wind industry – the legislation for vessels and their compliance to its various facets. He advised the use of available expertise to select the vessel needed and the use of correct standards to comply with legislation.
Offshore WIND Staff, October 24, 2013; Image: navingo