The Netherlands: Ensuring the Future of Offshore Wind Farms

Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference brings you a series of columns in which prominent industry representatives share their views on key developments in the offshore oil, gas and energy markets. This edition, Michael Kahn, Managing Director Jumbo, calls for some re-design in the offshore wind turbine industry.

Renewable energy is a growing market, especially in the Northern European countries. Government policies are aiming for a society that will be less dependent on fossil fuels. However wind energy is still partly dependent on governmental subsidies and tax advantages. This makes the industry vulnerable in economically turbulent times. Governments, although they strongly believe in renewable energy, are nowadays forced to cut budgets which may lead to more short term thinking and decision making within the utility companies.

 Catch-22

Heavy lift contractors like us have the capabilities and new types of installation vessels on their drawing boards, but are hesitant to invest in an industry that is only able to commit to projects up to the year 2015. At the same time operators can only commit to the construction of new wind farms when the projects will become financially more viable.

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[mappress]

Press release, October 01, 2012; Image: jumbo