With the sector now largely moving into the operations and maintenance phase – in addition to construction – even more space for employment is being created and it is a win-win-win situation, with the skilled workforce, recruiters and the industry players all benefiting from the industry’s progress.
Some 1,500 offshore wind turbines have come out of their warranty and, as the offshore wind farm developers/ owners are now responsible for keeping them up and running, this is a whole new era for the industry, according to Bert van Dijk, Business Advisor Offshore Wind from Van Dijk E-Projects.
DONG Energy has granted CWind a two-year extension to its existing three-year crew transfer vessel contract at the West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea.
Following the installation of 20 out of 91 Siemens 6MW wind turbines at the 573MW Race Bank offshore wind farm, Grimsby has surpassed 1GW of offshore wind capacity operated from the town, local media report.
Cemre Shipyard in Turkey has organised a launching ceremony for a service operation vessel (SOV) ordered by Esvagt and chartered by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind.
Galloper Wind Farm Limited expects a decision on the application to build an operations and maintenance facility for the 336MW Galloper offshore wind farm at Harwich International Port to be made in July.
The global wind operations and maintenance (O&M) market is set to grow from just over USD 13.7 billion in 2016 to around USD 27.4 billion by 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.0%, according to GlobalData.
DNV GL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China’s Goldwind International to develop a new portfolio asset management platform to support Goldwind’s international offshore and onshore wind market operations.
The Technical University of Denmark DTU has inaugurated a laboratory where researchers will complete a modular underwater robot for use on offshore wind farms.
Siemens Gamesa contracted Global Wind Service Benelux (GWS) to support with the first service campaign on Gemini offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea.
DONG Energy has partnered with the Grimsby Institute to offer new offshore wind turbine technician apprenticeships.
The UK Home Secretary has introduced a concession to the Immigration Rules to allow the employment of non-European Economic Area nationals who are joining vessels engaged in the construction and maintenance of offshore wind projects in UK territorial waters.
An Iberdrola-led industry based consortium has launched the ROMEO project aimed at reducing offshore wind O&M costs.
Construction of the Rampion Operations and Maintenance base at Newhaven Port is now underway, E.ON reports.
