Category Archives: Offshore

TechnipFMC and wave energy technology specialist, Bombora, have formed a strategic partnership to develop a floating wave and wind power project.

The partnership will initially focus on TechnipFMC and Bomboras InSPIRE project.

With engineering work initiated in November 2020, the partnership is developing a hybrid system utilizing Bomboras mWave technology.

The hybrid system demonstrator will deliver 6 MW of combined floating wind and wave power, followed by Series 1 and Series 2 commercial platforms which are expected to deliver 12 and 18 MW, respectively.

Jonathan Landes, President Subsea at TechnipFMC, said: Our core competencies and integration capabilities make us an ideal system architect and partner in developing renewable energy solutions alongside Bomboras experience and unique, patented mWave technology. We are delighted to work on a project that advances our commitment to the environment while contributing toward a more sustainable future.

The relationship is said to bring together TechnipFMCs technologies and experience delivering complex integrated Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation projects offshore with Bomboras patented multi-megawatt mWave technology that converts wave energy into electricity.

Bombora is collaborating with TechnipFMC to accelerate development of our floating integrated mWaveTM platform solutions for commercial wind farms. With TechnipFMCs extensive track record of delivering large-scale projects to the energy sector and Bomboras innovative mWaveTM technology, we are confident InSPIRE will play a key role in the offshore energy sector, Sam Leighton, Bomboras Managing Director, said.

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TechnipFMC and Bombora Launch Floating Wave and Wind Project - Offshore WIND

From the size and scale of the oceans to the power and speed of the creatures that reside within them, a trip offshore can transform your perspective in ways that have little to do with fishing.

Many dynamics of offshore fishing can be described only in relation to other bluewater experiences. For instance, no matter how many 12-pound largemouth bass youve caught, it doesnt compare to fighting a 500-pound blue marlin or a 150-pound yellowfin tuna.

Read on for an introduction to offshore fishing (and why we think everyone should try it). You dont need to go to a certain location or catch a specific kind of fish. The ocean is an all-encompassing place with endless experiences to pursue.

These days, we live in a largely on-demand society. Were so accustomed to getting what we want immediately that we sometimes forget our planet is more powerful than us (something people living 200 years ago certainly understood).

Time on the ocean provides a great dose of perspective. When youre offshore and all you can see is water in every direction as far as the eye can see you remember that forces beyond our control exist.

Without getting into the metaphysical, this type of perspective can be valuable against the contrast of busy days, working life, and land-divined obligations.

Want to go fishing in Florida? Here are our tried-and-true picks for expert fishing guides that cover a wide variety of species and experiences. Read more

One of the most fundamental differences between freshwater and saltwater fishing is the size of what you might catch. If you put a minnow under a bobber in a lake, you might have a realistic shot at catching three to five species. The maximum size of the fish that you might encounter tops out at 10 or 12 pounds in most cases.

If you drop down a bait offshore, however, you never know what you might get. Not only is the variety of targets far greater, but the size of your quarry can range from half a pound to several hundred. With apologies to the walleye and the crappie, ocean fish can even change your perspective on what constitutes a good meal.

This is no exaggeration. Part of the charm of offshore fishing is the stories of the giant mystery creature that you hooked and couldnt stop. Some of these unseen beasts take all of your line before popping you off. Some are rumored to be submarines.

Not only that, but you can catch really big fish in most places you might snag 8-, 10-, or even 12-foot sharks in the surf. Giant grouper can live surprisingly close to shore, sometimes even under docks. When youre offshore and deploying bait into an environment unseen by human eyes, you have literally no idea what might happen.

You might hook the very fish youre after, only to have it eaten by a shark, grouper, or barracuda. Theres no telling what might swim next to the boat.

Any day offshore might produce a sight youll never forget it doesnt always happen, but you certainly cant guarantee it wont.

Awe infrequently visits most people. But it lives offshore.

Witnessing the size, speed, and power of offshore gamefish inspires awe even in the most seasoned of captains. On land, things that weigh 500 pounds dont fly. Bull elk or moose cant do what a blue marlin can.

Witnessing a giant animal throw itself completely out of the water sometimes traveling 20 or more feet from where it exits to re-entry is an awe-inspiring scene. This feeling is not limited to only the biggest and most glamorous of the oceans gamefish, however.

The interesting thing about the process of becoming an experienced offshore fisher is that its an evolution. The first time you fish offshore could very well change your perspective on what a big fish is.

Maybe your first big fish is a 25-pound jack or 50-pound kingfish. Your next catch might be a 75-pound yellowfin tuna. After that, you might hang into a 200-pound bull shark. Each of these experiences then reframes your point of reference and influences the trajectory of what you might like to do next.

One of the best things about offshore fishing is its availability and wide variety the world over. Oceans cover more than two-thirds of the Earths surface. These days, most any coastal tourist destination offers some form of offshore fishing experience.

A particularly great option for a first trip is to buy a ticket on a party boat (theyre known as head boats in some places). These boats sell reasonably priced tickets for a day of fishing offshore. The benefit of this approach is that you can buy a ticket or two at maybe $80 each without having to rent the entire boat.

These boats usually target schooling fish that are easy to catch and provide all of the tackle, bait, and gear you need. My first time fishing offshore was on a party boat in Port Aransas, Texas, when I was 12. You can catch surprisingly big fish aboard these boats and get to see if fishing offshore is something youd like to do more.

Once you decide the answer is yes, you can incorporate fishing into family vacations and travel plans. This is a great way to see the world, experience new cultures, and catch ever larger, more exciting fish.

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The Offshore Fishing Experience: Why You Should Try It - GearJunkie

(Courtesy Siemens Gamesa)

Offshore staff

ZAMUDIO, Spain RWE has contracted Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy(SGRE) to provide 100 turbines for the 1.4-GW Sofia offshore wind power project.

Located195km (121 mi) off theUKs northeast coast on Dogger Bank in the North Sea,Sofia will be the first project to install the companys flagship 14 MW Direct Drive offshore wind turbine (SG 14-222 DD).

According to SGRE, the turbines will feature the worlds largest single-cast turbine blade at 108 m (354 ft) long.Recently produced, the first three B108 blades will be installed on the SG 14-222 DD prototype in sterild, Denmark, later in calendar year 2021.

Offshore construction works for the Sofia project are expected to start in 2023. Turbine installation is set to begin in 2025.

The firm order is accompanied by a contract to undertake the service and maintenance of the 100 turbines.

03/31/2021

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Siemens Gamesa to provide wind turbines for Sofia offshore the UK - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued its latest ruling on the Jones Acts role in the development of offshore wind projects off the nations coasts. The latest ruling now builds on earlier rulings that are now stacking up to have big implications for American mariners and ships.

The Jones Actrequires that goods shipped between U.S. ports are transported on ships that are built, owned, and operated by United States citizens or permanent residents.

As we have been following, CBP on January 27, 2021 for first time issued a ruling that expressly found that the Jones Act applies to the transportation of merchandise from a U.S. port to a location on the U.S. outer continental shelf for the purpose of the development and production of wind energy.

The ruling was the first following an amendment to the previously passed National Defense Authorization Act for 2021, which included a key provision affirming that the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and its application of the Jones Act in offshore energy activities, applies to offshore wind and other renewable energy in addition to oil and gas.

A second ruling just a few days later again addressed the issue, providing significant guidance on the use of foreign-flag vessels in connection with offshore wind activities, including important guidance on what is treated as vessel equipment.

Now, in third ruling on March 25, 2021, CBP actually significantly modified its first ruling, particularly as it relates to the use U.S. coastwise qualified and non-U.S. coastwise qualified vessels (i.e. American or foreign ships and crews) for purposes of scour protection, which involves transporting and depositing materials on the seabed in order to protect turbine foundations.

The rulings essentially provide clarity and guidance on specific issues. Law firm Holland & Knight discusses the implications of the latest ruling in an emailed alert.

First, the three rulings taken together indicate CBPs willingness to reach back to a substantial body of prior interpretative principles largely developed in connection with oil and gas activities, the the Holland & Knight article said. It has been unclear how CBP would apply some of those principles moving forward and these rulings provide some guidance in that regard.

Second, CBPs Jan. 27 and March 25 rulings indicate that despite looking to existing analogous principles, CBP is willing to set new precedent for offshore wind activities.

For example, although the CBPs more recent ruling revoked part of its initial January 27 ruling, in doing so it offered a new and rather broad interpretation of what will now constitute a coastwise point, according to Holland & Knight.

Finally, the fact that CBP is actively issuing rulings in the space is in and of itself an important, if not critical, trend, the article said.

This is all extremely significant considering the Biden Administration has just revealed a plan to expand the nations offshore wind capacity to 30 gigawatts by 2030, marking a major expansion from the nations current capacity.

Anything close to the level of activity needed to achieve such goals will require virtually every permutation of available U.S. coastwise qualified vesselsandpermissible foreign-flag vessels, according to Holland and Knight. CBPs active participation in the industry is a necessary and welcome trend.

We reached out to Holland & Knight for some clarity on the foreign-flag vessel part:

The Jones Act of course does not prohibit all vessel related activities on the OCS, as the rulings also reflect, explained Gerald Morrissey, lead author of the article. The point was there are permissible activities that non-Jones Act vessels can undertake on the OCS, and given the tremendous scope of the anticipated offshore wind industry and ambitious timeframes on top of that, it is highly likely that the projects will need vessels from all permissible sources.

In an interview on Wednesday, a senior official within the Biden Administration said the administration is aiming to transform the United States into the worlds leading offshore wind energy producer, an area that it has lagged for years.

The distinction now is that we have a president and an administration that is really harnessing this opportunity to fight climate change and to create good paying union jobs, said Amanda Lefton, director of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. We will soon be leading in this industry.

We have an industry in the United States that knows how to do energy development in the Outer Continental Shelf, she added.

Originally posted here:

Latest Customs and Border Protection Ruling Has Big Implications for the Jones Act's Role in Offshore Wind gCaptain - gcaptain.com

A renewed interest in wind energy is coming from the Biden administration, making an offshore wind farm on the Central Coast a possibility once again.

This week, the Biden administration released a multi-layer plan to expand offshore wind energy production in the U.S., which includes investments in port infrastructures and $3 billion in loans for the offshore industry.

"The President recognizes that a thriving offshore wind industry will drive new jobs and economic opportunity up and down the Atlantic coast, in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific waters," White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said.

Mayor of Morro Bay John Headding says this change in narrative has allowed for the removal of some of the roadblocks in the way of an offshore wind turbine project on the Central Coast.

"We've been talking about this and trying to work through the issues for over five years, so I'm extremely excited not only for the state and the industry but for Morro Bay, economically, it will be something that will be fairly significant," Headding said.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management identified an area 20-25 miles off the coast of Morro Bay as one of two spots in California that would be ideal for this type of energy production site.

"[That's] because the winds out there are blowing all the time and there is a "shovel ready," as I call it, connection to the grid through the Morro Bay Power Plant," Headding explained.

Several stakeholders are still trying to pinpoint an exact location, as a previous site chosen on the Central Coast would have impeded Naval activity.

"Were in the process of finding a suitable region that marries the energy needs of our state with the national security uses of the region, including military testing and training operations. Im heartened the Biden administration is interested in expanding this burgeoning industry, which will create good-paying clean energy jobs while bringing us closer to a renewable energy future, and I will continue working to bring offshore wind opportunities to the Central Coast," Congressman Salud Carbajal said.

Headding says the output of energy from the turbines is expected to produce more energy than Diablo Canyon.

But what does this mean for those who make a living out on the water? Headding says a company that had previously bid on the project had an agreement with local fishing groups, but that could change now that bids for the site will go up again.

"It would behoove any company that would enter into the bidding process to discuss with the local fishing industry possible mitigation of impacts for developing the wind farm," Headding said.

A spokesperson for Representative Carbajal's office says:

The mayor says there are 11 companies who have submitted paperwork to bid on the area identified by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for an offshore site on the Central Coast.

The auction process for the bids could begin later this year.

Headding says the excess energy produced by the turbines could potentially be stored at the proposed battery energy storage plant that looks to break ground at the site of the former Morro Bay Power Plant next year.

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Renewed interest in offshore wind energy could bring a site to the Central Coast - KSBY San Luis Obispo News

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In response to the Biden Administration's announcement today on offshore wind, Joris Veldhoven, treasurer and commercial director at Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a developer that has bid into the latest round of offshore wind solicitation in New Jersey, released the following statement:

This bold agenda to develop offshore wind in the United States will create tens of thousands of jobs and build a more robust green energy economy in this country. The investments in strengthening port infrastructure and the domestic supply chain will open communities across the coastal U.S. up to tremendous economic opportunity on the international stage. As a developer, we appreciate the advancement of critical permitting milestones for projects in New Jersey and beyond. Together, these priorities will accelerate offshore wind growth and its many economic benefits for coastal communities.

"New Jersey is particularly well-poised to seize this opportunity and meet the growing demand for labor thanks to the strength of its unions. Its why we are proud to be partnering with six local unions to train and hire the workforce that will build New Jerseys green infrastructure as part of our bid submission. We look forward to working with elected officials at every level of government, in New Jersey and in Washington, to help realize this vision.

About Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC:

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC is a 50/50 partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF Renewables North America. The joint venture formed in December 2018 to co-develop a 183,353 acre Lease Area located approximately 10-20 miles off the New Jersey coast between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light. Atlantic Shores is strategically positioned to meet the growing demands of renewable energy targets in New York, New Jersey and beyond, with strong and steady wind resources close to large population centers with associated electricity demand. Atlantic Shores, once fully developed, has the potential to generate over 3,000 MW (3 GW) in wind energy and power nearly 1.5 million homes. The capital and expertise needed to develop such a large area is significant. Together, Shell and EDF Renewables have the investment capability and industry experience to bring this project to scale safely, efficiently and cost effectively. For more info: http://www.atlanticshoreswind.com

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Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Responds to Biden Administration Plan to Create Tens of Thousands of Green Jobs and Strengthen Renewable Infrastructure...

The AtlantiCare health system broke ground Tuesday on a new $38 million Medical Arts Pavilion in Atlantic City. Land for the pavilion was donated by the Casino Reinvestment Authority, which also pledged $15 million to the project. According to AtlantiCare, the new facility will allow it to expand access to care for underserved populations when it opens late next year.

The Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills is proceeding with a $100 million capital improvement project, after receiving federal funding. It will break ground in a few months on a new addition that is also scheduled for completion next year.

Several groups in the state are protesting a bill they say would shut out some New Jersey companies from government contracts on construction projects. The bill, which has advanced through the Legislature, would require that more public works projects use construction companies that abide by union rules. The African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey opposes the legislation. Founder and CEO John Harmon says the measure would hurt Black- and Hispanic-owned companies, most of which are nonunion. The bill is also opposed by the Associated Builders and Contractors of New Jersey.

With the Biden administration looking to expand offshore-wind projects off the New Jersey coast, the state is taking steps to make sure workers are prepared for clean-energy jobs. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development has a $1 million grant available to fund job-training programs as part of a partnership with Public Service Electric and Gas, with the aim of recruiting and training 2,000 workers, particularly from the states big cities. PSE&G is a funder of NJ Spotlight News.

WATCH: Business Report: Jobs added, economy grows, housing prices rise, SBA loans expand

MORE: Business Report: Utility costs, economic update, SALT deduction, age discrimination

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Business Report: Health care systems expanding, government contracts, offshore wind projects | Video - NJ Spotlight

NEW LONDON, Conn. (WTNH) President Biden recently released a plan to help the offshore wind industry with faster federal approval, low interest loans, and funding for changes to U.S. ports.Its focused on New York and New Jersey but many are hoping it helps a Connecticut project as well.

Fishermen say they disturb marine life and others say they ruin their view but offshore wind farms are also seen as an effective way to harvest renewable energy.

President Joe Biden is now pushing to make it easier to get federal approval for offshore wind projects. He is also looking to providelow interest loans, as well as, funding for changes to U.S. ports.

Its exciting the Biden administration is pulling out all stops to try to get this to go, said Mayor Michael Passero, (D) New London.

New London is hoping to become a hub for the offshore wind industry with a focal point being the State Pier to which the state plans to make $157 million in infrastructure upgrades.

The citys partners Orsted and Eversource said in a joint statement.

Were proud to be building the first utility-scale offshore wind farms serving New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and we stand ready to support the bold path President Biden is charting for a nation fueled by affordable clean energy.

With the onset of the partnership between Orsted and Eversource, the revenues to the city of New London have increased tenfold from what they were, said Mayor Passero.

In the short term it creates a lot of jobs building these turbines, servicing the turbines, but in the long run its our contribution to climate change, Sen. Chris Murphy.

The presidents plan would generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 3030. Thats enough to power 10 million American homes and cut millions in metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

With the State Pier project however others like the DRVN salt company and longshoremen say they were driven out by the Connecticut Port Authority.

We would like to have seen it done differently but were moving forward now with the use of this pier, said Mayor Passero.

With an green industry the mayor hopes will mean sustainable opportunities for decades to come.

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New London reacts to President Bidens plan to help offshore wind industry - WTNH.com

Recent events in Palma, a town in the volatile Cabo Delgado province in the north of Mozambique, have taken bloodshed in the region to new levels. Dozens of people were killed when hundreds of Islamist militants stormed the town on Wednesday, 25 March. They targeted shops, banks and a military barracks.

The attack has been devastating for the people living in the area as well as the country. The escalating violence has already left at least a thousand dead and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

The conflict has put a temporary lid on plans that have been in the making for more than a decade since rich liquefied natural gas (LNG) deposits were discovered in the Rovuma Basin, just off the coast of Cabo Delgado. Western majors like Total, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP entered the Mozambique LNG industry as well as Japans Mitsui, Malaysias Petronas and Chinas CNPC.

The gas projects are estimated to be worth US$60 billion in total. Some observers recently predicted that Mozambique could become one of the top ten LNG producers in the world.

The development of the projects had led to the area becoming a hive of economic activity.

The plan was for Palma to become a LNG manufacturing hub where hundreds of skilled workers would be located. And, more broadly, the hope was that it would drive the rapid advancement of a country that ranks close to the bottom of the United Nations Human Development Index. More than 70% of the population have been classified as multidimensionally poor by the United Nations Development Programme.

The LNG projects in the northern Cabo Delgado area represented a silver lining of hope. Since 2012 the major multinational energy companies have spent billions of dollars on developing the offshore gas sites. Today, offshore exploration in the Cabo Delgado area includes Africas three largest LNG projects. These are the Mozambique LNG Project (involving Total and previously Anadarko) worth $20 billion; the Coral FLNG Project (involving Eni and Exxon Mobil) worth $4.7 billion; and the Rovuma LNG Project (involving Exxon Mobil, Eni and CNPC) worth $30 billion.

Production was scheduled to start in 2024 but intensifying attacks near the gas site on the Afungi peninsula are now posing serious challenges to the production time lines.

There have been no material benefits for the people of Cabo Delgado thus far. Moreover, many local people feel deeply aggrieved because many were evicted and had to relocate soon after the discovery of gas in Cabo Delgado to make way for LNG infrastructure development.

Cabo Delgado is Mozambiques most northern province. Neglected over many years, the people who live there have been politically marginalised. And the area is underdeveloped.

Since independence in 1975 investment, and rising incomes, were largely confined to the capital Maputo in the south as well as the southern parts of the country.

In addition, the central government in Maputo has only had a fragile and precarious control over the territory and borders of the country. A 16-year civil war that involved clashes between the central government and Renamo, a militant organisation and political movement during the liberation struggle and now opposition party, claimed more than a million lives.

More recently, since 2017, the militant Islamic movement, Ansar al-Sunna, locally known as Al-Shabaab, has been active in Cabo Delgado. It now poses the biggest security threat in the country, rendering some of the northern parts almost ungovernable.

The militants took advantage of the Mozambican governments failure to exercise control over the entire territory of the country.

Ansar al-Sunna reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in April 2018. It was acknowledged as an affiliate of ISIS-Core in August 2019. In view of this, the US Department of State has designated Ansar al-Sunna Mozambique, which it refers to as ISIS-Mozambique, as a foreign terrorist organisation.

What makes this armed force so significant is that the movement has orchestrated a series of large scale and targeted attacks. In 2020 this led to the temporary capturing of the strategic port of Mocimboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado.

In addition, the turbulence caused by the militants attacks has displaced nearly 670,000 people within northern Mozambique. Obviously, foreign companies in the LNG industry with their considerable investments feel threatened, especially at the current stage where final investment decisions have to be taken.

In recent months the situation in Cabo Delgado has gone from bad to worse. In November 2020, dozens of people were reportedly beheaded by the militants. Now the bloodshed has spread to Palma.

Amid the development of an increasingly alarming human rights situation towards the end of last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, appealed for urgent measures to protect civilians. She described the situation as desperate and one of grave human rights abuses. Bachelet also stated that more than 350,000 people had been displaced since 2018.

There is little doubt that Islamist insurgents are increasing the scale of their activities in Cabo Delgado. A lack of governance and a proper security response by both the Mozambican government and southern African leaders make this a case of high political risk for the LNG industry.

The escalation of the insurgency can potentially jeopardise the successful unlocking of Mozambiques resource wealth. Until now, the main LNG installations and sites have not been targeted, but the attacks in Palma have brought the turbulence dangerously close to some of the installations.

The Mozambican armed forces are clearly stretched beyond the point where they can protect the local communities. A part of the solution lies in Southern African Development Community or at least South African military support to stabilise Cabo Delgado and restore law and order in the short term. Wider international support might even be necessary.

But this would require the Mozambican government to change its stance by allowing multinational foreign military forces on its soil.

At the same time, a long term solution should be pursued. This will require better governance of the northern areas and the local people in what has been called a forgotten province.

It is clear that Cabo Delgado is an area which the central government in Maputo is unable to control, govern effectively, or even influence. In short, weak state institutions including weak armed forces are key to the problems of Mozambique and specifically the turbulence in the northern parts.

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Offshore gas finds offered major promise for Mozambique: what went wrong - The Conversation CA

The offshore wind industry is on the cusp of major growth. We are entering an era where oil majors arent just making vague ESG commitments, but actually putting their money on the table for offshore wind development.

However, while the results from the UKs Round 4 tender certainly demonstrate that the likes of BP are willing to bid billions for seabed leasing, there are concerns that the winners of this round may have overbid raising the cost of developing their projects.

The pressure on developers to keep projects viable often leads them to choose contractors and equipment suppliers based on price rather than quality or proven experience. In recent years, we have seen some developers opt for suppliers with a known track record of losses, simply because up-front costs are low.

Over the years, we have seen this race to the bottom result in countless insurance claims due to contractor error. Since 2016, global offshore wind claims across the industry have increased by 30% year on year, with contractor error and defective design and materials making up over 60% of claims by cause of loss. A majority of claims are incurred either during construction, or down the line from errors during the construction phase itself.

The cost of losses typically ends up with the insurer, rather than the developer or even the original manufacturer, where the loss may actually originate from resulting in a perverse incentive for developers to avoid managing obvious risks due to cost.

Recently, a developer of an offshore wind farm opted to contract a cable manufacturer known for multiple losses in the industry, agreeing to only test 25% of cables for quality and defects in order to keep costs as low as possible. This lack of quality control opens up the project to significant cable losses down the line.

In this case, the developer was likely banking on a soft insurance market, where insurers offer wide terms and policy conditions covering projects even despite glaring deficiencies in risk management, to pick up the bill when things went wrong.

As more oil & gas majors enter the offshore wind industry, insurers active in the oil & gas market are likely to follow, offering lower premiums and wider terms and conditions in order to buy market share.

However, these insurers are used to policies with the expectation of a similar risk profile to traditional energy infrastructure, with low frequency, high-cost losses. These insurers are also used to limited business interruption and delay in start-up exposure, as well as much higher deductibles than has been experienced in the renewable energy offshore market.

As such, insurers traditionally focused on oil & gas exposure entering the renewables offshore market without updating premiums, policies, and terms and conditions will likely be unsustainable and exit the market once losses start piling up. This could limit available insurance capacity and threaten the long-term viability of the offshore renewables market.

If insurers had underwritten every offshore construction project to date, without significant reinsurance insurance that the insurance market buys for itself to protect its own account they would have certainly lost money over the last ten years.

We have seen a similar dynamic play out in onshore wind. As losses started to pile up, a number of insurers have been unable to continue underwriting such costly projects and ended up completely exiting the market. Those that stayed have had to re-examine premium, deductibles and terms in order to effectively manage risk and thereby reduce the scale and frequency of losses. What has become increasingly clear is that there needs to be a greater degree of risk sharing, not only between the insurance market and the developer or owner but with all parties, all the way down the chain to subcontractors.

Onshore, this hardening of the market is starting to turn the corner in ensuring a fair allocation of risk throughout the supply chain. However, the offshore industry cannot afford not to go through a similar process, and the entry of new markets with an oil and gas perspective will certainly not help in industry in the longer term.

As projects can cost billions to develop, a single offshore wind farm can have multiple insurers covering the project on a syndicated basis. A major loss is more likely to have repercussions on the whole renewables insurance industry, rather than one or two unlucky insurers who backed a risky project and current practices can complicate claims, inflating the cost of a loss.

In order to keep insurance cheap, brokers will often place what are known as verticalised placements with the risks from a single project absorbed by multiple insurers, each offering different policy definitions, terms, sub-limits, deductibles and premiums. These verticalised placements tend to muddle the overall policy terms between each insurer together in an attempt to provide complete protection for a client.

However, this approach could ultimately open renewable energy companies up to complications and extra costs when it comes to settling a claim later down the line, as insurers and expensive legal advisors try to clarify grey areas between different policy wordings and definitions.

With the expansion of offshore wind into emerging markets, and the involvement of new players across the supply chain, now is the time to ensure the race to lower the cost of development does not result in disasters due to a lack of risk accountability. By quantifying and managing risk throughout the supply chain, the offshore wind industry can ensure that the market remains insurable and ultimately facilitate a faster, wider rollout of new wind farms at a critical point in the energy transition.

Fraser McLachlan is the chief executive of specialist renewable energy insurer GCube

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'Big Oil's push into offshore wind could threaten the long-term viability of the sector' | Recharge - Recharge