The kick-off of Offshore Wind Installation and Maintenance (OWIM) Conference marked the beginning of the second day of Offshore Energy 2014, held in Amsterdam.
Among a number of exhibitors, delegates and visitors involved in the offshore renewables industry, the presence of Marie Donnelly from the European Commission certainly attracted a lot of interest.
This year’s OWIM conference focused on next generation developments and improvements needed to implement this ever more advanced energy technology.
As wind turbines are moving farther offshore, installation in deeper water and harsher environments requires a new foundation design, thus the installation and maintenance processes need to be in accordance with new developments. This was discussed during an OWIM session titled “Future foundations”.
Another topic that sparked the interest of visitors was discussed at the “Developing an offshore grid” session, where speakers shared their knowledge on connection to the onshore grid, lowering the costs of grid connectivity and establishing a cross-border regulatory framework. The keynote speaker, Marie Donnelly, presented the findings of a report, recently issued by the European Commission, which advocates a meshed grid as a solution from which the entire EU can benefit.
Furthermore, a session on supply chain and operational management covered the best practices along the supply chain, keeping in mind that the optimization of logistical processes is the key in reducing costs.
The last, but not least, session was titled “Global business opportunities”, with a focus on business opportunities in India and China, among other countries. Since the prospects for offshore wind are growing globally, the session also discussed future workforce requirements and possible contracting solutions to improve the quality of offshore wind investments.
Being held as part of Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference, which grows every year, OWIM is also becoming an event which engages a significant number of large industry players and visitors interested in offshore renewable energy. Besides gathering people and companies from the industry in one place, the event itself promotes offshore renewable energy on a European and global level.
Watch the highlights of the event’s second day, featuring Marie Donnelly from EU Commission and Jan van der Tempel, CEO of Ampelmann Operations:
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Offshore WIND Staff