Risks and Opportunities in Offshore Wind
BY JONNY ALLEN
*Installed Capacity in 2016, according to IRENA:
http://resourceirena.irena.org/gateway/ dashboard/?topic=4&subTopic=19
Jonny Allen joined GCube in 2013 and heads the offshore wind underwriting team, covering all classes of project in Europe and beyond. In addition to underwriting he is active on the Risk Management side on secondment to European utilities and facilitating risk workshops within the industry, as well as chairing the EWTC. Prior to moving over to the London insurance market, his experience was as a systems engineer in oil and gas, in particular new drilling and exploration platforms. Jonny holds a Masters of Engineering from the University of Bristol, with his thesis focusing on Renewable Energy systems.
We are living in exciting times. Renewable energy is gaining momentum at a rate of knots, and meanwhile, the advent of new technologies is creating opportunities and cost efficiencies. This is nowhere more evident than in the world of offshore wind, a fast-developing sector forming 15.4%* of the UK’s renewables market.
For maritime communities, the opportunities are boundless. Developers of offshore wind farms require the services of workboats, Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) and Offshore Energy Support Vessels
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(OESVs) to support and transfer engineers from shore to site, as well as Wind Turbine Installation Vessels (WITVs) – the purpose of which should be self-explanatory – floating cranes, cable-laying vessels and jack-up barges. Naturally, in addition to these practical considerations, wind farms require marine consultants, surveyors, insurers and other partners to ascertain that projects meet industry engineering and safety standards.
The rapid growth of the offshore wind industry is therefore creating a boom in demand for all of these
support vessels, service providers and contractors, introducing a multitude of development and employment opportunities for the maritime sector.
However, with progress and innovation inevitably comes risk, and current threats to offshore wind demand acknowledgment – and engagement – from all those working in the sector. Calculated decision-making and collaborative thinking are required to ensure that the risks are minimised, allowing all to benefit from the ‘windfall’ of opportunities offered by offshore wind. A crucial factor in
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