Offshore WIND Conference 2016: Review of the Day One

The Offshore WIND Conference, opened this morning in Amsterdam, marked a productive first day with the industry gathering to discuss business opportunities and reaching potential within the growing sector.

With the agreements made during COP21 in 2015 in mind, the industry is encouraged to strive to reach the targets and raise the bar.

This year’s Offshore WIND Conference was launched by the chairman Stephen Bolton, Operations Director at Bibby Marine Services, followed by an opening speech and a video presentation from Wim Bal, Managing Director of IV-Groep.

During the opening session “Calling the shots” David Molenaar, Country Division Head Wind Power, Siemens Netherlands, spoke about Zero Harm approach, the need for more flexibility in servicing offshore wind farms, as well as the cooperation with the Dutch government that started in 2008 and led to creating a system that can allow for setting up more large-scale offshore wind projects.

Molenaar also stressed that the industry needs targets for 2030 and 2050, as well as an integrated system.

He said that the industry needs a nationwide educational system that will deliver high-quality engineers to offshore wind.

At the start of the “Business opportunities” panel discussion, Stephen Bolton pointed out that offshore wind is a market that is moving outside domestic playing fields.

Gareth Hector from Douglas-Westwood tagged France, Poland and the USA as emerging markets that account for 14% in the global forecasted capacity for the period 2016-2025.

There will be 9,451 turbines installed in the same period, and 8MW wind turbines will account for 69%, according to BVG.

James Beal, Chief Operations Officer Offshore Wind Team at the UK Department for International Trade (DIT), spoke about the UK’s success as an offshore wind leader which is also supporting other countries in setting up their own projects.

Andreas Wagner, CEO, German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation, said that strong European market is the base for exporting to the global market.

Ernst van Zuijlen, Top consortium for Knowledge and Innovation Offshore Wind, said the focus of his organization is still largely on the Netherlands and opportunities within it. He also pointed out that the outcomes of the first Borssele tender, as well as the nearshore one in Denmark, will create confidence for future developments.

The final session, titled “Project coordination”, saw Alun Roberts, Associate Director at BVG Associates, speaking about supply chain plans, especially in terms of UK’s focus on local content.

Didi te Gussinklo Ohmann, Project Manager Offshore Wind Projects at Van Oord, highlighted the need for supply chain integration and cooperation as key for moving a project forward as successfully as possible.

Nic De Roeck, Project Director at Jan de Nul, gave an overview of the company’s activities and, among other things, suggested use of thicker piles, which would reduce noise during piling, positively affect fatigue life of foundations and reduce corrosion effects.

The Offshore WIND Conference continues with its programme tomorrow, when industry players will talk about opportunities within the supply chain as well as short- and long term potential.