Gabriel Touchard’s Post

Good news for the UK offshore wind economy. RenewableUK, the @Offshore Wind Industry Council, The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland have published a detailed Industrial Growth Plan, setting out how to triple offshore wind manufacturing capacity over the next ten years, firmly establishing the UK as a leader in a surging global market.

📣Important Industrial Growth Plan (IGP) out this morning from RenewableUK - together with the Offshore Wind Industry Council, The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland. At Siemens Energy & Siemens Gamesa #UK we welcome today’s report that sets out how to triple UK offshore wind manufacturing capacity over the next ten years. The #IGP highlights the technology priorities, on which the UK should focus its efforts, to build a competitive, high-value #supplychain in 🌊 #offshorewind. As the report highlights, our recently expanded £500 million Siemens Gamesa offshore wind blade factory and port in Hull, where we employ more than 1,000 people, is a clear example this growing industry requires continuous investment to keep pace with the ever-developing technology and secure our clean energy future. 👉 Read more here:

🌊💨 Aberdeen: The New Frontier for Floating Offshore Wind This article was published by Jeremy Grant in The Scotsman last week about the floating offshore wind conference in Aberdeen: https://lnkd.in/g246iXJs Here's why CLS Wind needs to be part of this crucial conversation about Scotland reaching it's floating offshore wind potential: Key Takeaways: 📊 Scotland accounts for 75% of UK's 2030 floating wind target 🏗️ GB Energy HQ creating hundreds of jobs in Aberdeen 🚀 UK is 3rd largest floating wind market globally Challenges & Opportunities: 1️⃣ Commercial viability at scale 2️⃣ Rising costs affecting project viability 3️⃣ Grid upgrades and supply chain gaps 4️⃣ Port infrastructure adaptation How CLS Wind Can Address These: ✅ Cost Reduction: Our system cuts installation costs by up to 50% ✅ Scalability: Works with various foundation types, including innovative designs like OSI Renewables' crossover platform ✅ Port Adaptation: Reduces port infrastructure requirements by 70% ✅ Supply Chain: Enables use of smaller, more available local vessels Projects to Watch: • ScotWind • INTOG • Green Volt (Europe's largest floating windfarm) The government-industry floating offshore wind taskforce envisions 100,000 jobs by 2050. CLS Wind could be the "big bang needed to de-risk offshore wind and unlock financing and insurance." Cllr Gillian Owen, Aberdeenshire Council Scottish Renewables RenewableUK Energy Transition Zone Ltd GB Energy #FloatingOffshoreWind #Aberdeen #Innovation #CLSWind #EnergyTransition #ScotWind #INTOG #GreenVolt #cSolutions

This week, RenewableUK, the Offshore Wind Industry Council, The Crown Estate, and Crown Estate Scotland, published the ‘Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan’, outlining how to triple offshore wind manufacturing in the UK over next 10 years, positioning the nation as an industry leader. 👏   With more ambitious targets being set globally, the plan sets out how the UK can continue to be at the forefront. This highlights the importance of collaboration across the offshore wind industry and its supply chain to close gaps that could put energy targets at risk. Jan Matthiesen, Director at the Carbon Trust, said, “the success of this plan would secure the UK's position as a global leader in the surging offshore wind market, as it is set to benefit significantly from this growth, with estimates suggesting that the market opportunity could be worth up to £92bn by 2040.”   Read the full RenewableUK press release ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e-F_XccX

The largest planned wind farm in the UK – and one of the largest anywhere in the world – is stuck in planning limbo, with inaction by the Scottish Government holding back thousands of jobs and billions in investment, the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has highlighted. SSE Renewables

Chair of CORIF (the Cork Offshore Renewable Industry Forum) Catherine Sheridan welcomed today’s piece in the Irish Examiner on the potential of Ireland’s offshore wind sector:   “Ireland has immense potential to develop a thriving offshore wind sector and Cork is ideally placed to become the first of the national hubs for the offshore renewable energy sector. As William (Bill) Duggan and James Carton state in today’s Irish Examiner, the development of Ireland’s ports, including the Port of Cork Company Ltd., must be fast-tracked to ensure the required infrastructure is put in place now to facilitate the development of the renewable energy sector into the future."   “Growing Cork’s offshore renewables capacity will unlock significant social and economic benefits for Ireland as a whole. Investment in critical infrastructure must be prioritised by Government now – the estimates indicate any investment will be more than repaid to the Exchequer over the coming years and will be critical if we are to reach our climate targets and attract new clean industries.” https://lnkd.in/ey2rVVFT

There was a sense of guarded optimism in Aberdeen last week about the prospects for floating offshore wind in Scotland, which is set to account for 75% of the UK's floating capacity up to 2030. Guarded, because the industry faces a gigantic "chicken and egg" problem. ScotWind wind farm developers can't make contractual commitments to wind turbine manufacturers or ports (for assembly and supply chain) because they don't know if the supply chain and port infrastructure will be in place in time for "final investment decision" (FID) on their projects. The financial risk of doing so is too high. Yet without knowing with reasonable certainty that all the moving parts will be in place in time, they can't be certain that FID is a reasonable certainty by the time it's envisaged in their plans. For the ports and supply chain manufacturers keen to win developers' business, booking business now is urgent because of project timeline and cashflow cyclicality (which is why wind turbine companies like Vestas and Siemens Gamesa have experienced such financial turbulence of late). As an executive at a Chinese floating substructure company told me at the Floating Offshore Wind 2024 conference in Aberdeen last week: "Everyone is waiting for the apple to fall from the tree." In Saturday's The Scotsman I wrote a short piece explaining how the industry sees things: Scottish Renewables RenewableUK P&J Live Oil States Industries Energy Transition Zone Ltd Mooreast

Standardisation and investment needed to unlock future of floating wind A Westwood Global Energy Group survey has revealed that accelerated investment, regulation and supply chain coordination is needed if the offshore wind sector is to meet its ambitious targets. The research, developed in partnership with Norwegian Offshore Wind and WORLD FORUM OFFSHORE WIND (WFO), surveyed 184 floating offshore wind stakeholders on industry sentiment and attitudes across the value chain. The survey revealed a lack of standardisation of floating technology (55 per cent), manufacturing capability and capacity (51 per cent) and port infrastructure (50 per cent) as the most cited major hurdles and risks to progress for floating offshore. With this, Westwood said that calls are ringing out for governments to provide more specific policy and regulatory support for technology development, in addition to cost reduction and investment in port infrastructure to accelerate adoption. It was also found that 42 per cent of European respondents were less optimistic about the floating offshore wind sector than they were two years ago, compared with 30 per cent for non-Europe. Globally, 44 per cent of developers were found to be more optimistic about the sector than two years ago, whereas that decreased to just under a quarter of supply chain respondents, potentially pointing to a lag in projects coming to tender for their services. #maritimeconnection #floatingoffshorewind #smes #ISeaSMEs https://lnkd.in/ddZaDCxB

It is great to see progress in renewable energy! The approval of the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm makes a significant step towards harnessing clean power and building a sustainable future. To read the full article: #RenewableEnergy #WindPower #Sustainability

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) 2024 Offshore Wind Market Report projects a $65B investment by 2030, supporting 56,000 jobs and powering 22 MILLION homes. With 56 GW in development, offshore wind will boost the economy, create jobs, reduce pollution, and strengthen energy security. This investment marks a huge step towards a sustainable energy future. https://bitly.cx/BVX29