Q&A with Pieter van Oord, CEO, Van Oord
Speaker during Offshore WIND Conference, opening session
What future balance between fossil and renewable energy will the industry see 2050?
Most likely fossil fuels will remain an important part of our future energy mix for decades to come. The need for fossil fuels will be largely determined by the gross domestic product growth. It is very difficult to predict the speed of these developments and the future balance between the different energy sources. Countries and regions will have to find their own optimal mix of both fossil and renewable energy solutions to cope with changes and upcoming disruptive technologies.
What is the impact of the cost reduction within offshore wind on the supply chain?
In recent years, the supply chain has achieved cost reduction and efficiency, because sufficient projects (in market volume) have been on the market. Market driven government policy and tender and auction system are crucial for this industry.
How will offshore wind survive in a lower-for-longer price period?
In my opinion, this is not a good question. With the results of the large offshore wind tenders in our minds, it is clear that offshore wind has become a mainstream energy source. It is evident that the total cost of wind is better than that of coal and gas power plants.
What do you hope people take-away from your contribution during Offshore WIND Conference?
I hope that people take away that times in energy are changing. That they feel the necessity of this change, while seeing opportunities at the same time. Offshore wind plays a major role in the energy transition in North- Western Europe. The conditions in this region (North Sea and Baltic) are very suitable for offshore wind, considering the favourable wind conditions. The return of wind energy is significantly higher: for the generation of solar energy, our country has an average of 800 full load hours compared to more than 4000 full load hours for energy generation with wind at sea. On top of that, the geotechnical conditions in North-Western Europe are perfect; the sand has a good structure for the foundations and the water is shallow.
Reprinted from the Offshore WIND Magazine, edition 4, which is out now!