European Commission Working on Unified Health and Safety Standards for Wind Farms

European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy is seeking technical support to examine the potential for harmonisation and alignment of health and safety standards for onshore and offshore wind farms.

Image for illustrative purposes only. Source: Noble Denton/Vattenfall

The aim of the analysis is to develop and implement RES health and safety policy which would cover construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of wind farms both onshore and offshore.

The study should provide an overview of legislation in force or in preparation that allows easy identification of common elements and potential differences.

It should also give an overview of standards and certification procedures in force or in preparation with respect to their scope and technical content, and establish a broad agreement in the wind energy sector on a process to identify areas where further harmonisation or alignment could be beneficial.

The study should also develop a detailed methodology that can be used to qualify, assess and prioritize potential harmonisation or alignment at European level. This methodology should have a strong support of all stakeholders in the wind energy sector.

A catalogue with 15-30 potential health and safety initiatives for the wind-energy sector and their expected socio-economic benefits should be identified and presented.

The value of the 15-month contract is EUR 700,000.

The tender will remain open until 14 September.