Overview of the Workshop

On 3rd and 4th July 2014, the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) carried

out a workshop on “Offshore Wind Energy – Potentials for interregional projects”. The two-

day event on behalf of the Maritime Competence Center (MARIKO, Leer) was held in the

premises of the Representation of the State of Lower Saxony to the European Union. A total

of 30 invited participants from ten different countries, including representatives of the

European Commission, discussed current and future challenges of offshore wind energy in

Europe in order to jointly define fields of action for interregional cooperation projects.

The two-day workshop included the following modules:

Part A: Offshore wind energy– the European perspective

Part A of the workshop included four presentations, which addressed the status quo of

offshore wind energy and provided an insight into its policy prospects. Furthermore

technical and political requirements for the further development of electricity from offshore

wind energy in the North Sea on an industrial scale were explained by representatives of the

European Commission (Directorate General for Energy). Afterwards, framework conditions

and funding schemes for renewable energy topics were presented. An approach for process

creativity and proposal definition and an outlook on the project development were

introduced to round off the introduction into the workshop´s topic.

Part B: Regional competence profiles in the field of offshore wind energy (OSW) and

experiences from other projects

The second part of the workshop consisted of six presentations, which were based on three

sets of issues to be discussed by the representatives of the regions: 1) Regional key areas of

competence related to offshore wind energy; 2) experiences from other related projects; 3)

further needs for investigation and potentials for cooperation.

Part C: Discussion of project ideas

Part C of the workshop was targeted at jointly identifying possibilities for interregional

cooperation in specific areas of OSW. It included an interactive part, which should help to

identify the common interests of the regional partners by discussing the biggest challenges

and needs in the field of OSW. It became apparent that taking advantage of cost reduction

capabilities in OSW-related logistics is a central aspect of interest to all regions.

Participants

There were in total 30 participants from various European countries (Belgium, Denmark,

France, Great Britain, Germany, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain). The

audience included representatives of the European Commission (EC), employees of

chambers of commerce, representatives of public authorities, regional development

agencies, business development organisations, port operators, research institutions and

regional representations to the European Union.

Programme

Dr Mary Papaschinopoulou, Director of the Northern Chambers of Commerce Association

(IHK Nord), acted as facilitator. Mary started by giving a short overview of the workshop

programme, followed by a welcoming speech by Wulf Blumenstein, Representation of the

State of Lower Saxony to the European Union. He stressed the remarkable development of

renewable energies in Europe over the past years. As host of the workshop, Hauke

Groeneveld, Project Manager at MARIKO, also welcomed the audience.

The programme consisted of 11 presentations, followed by a joint project development

session on the second day.

Presentations in detail

Part A: Offshore wind energy– the European perspective

Offshore wind energy - status quo and policy prospects. Presentation by Jasmin Battista

The first one to present was Jasmin Battista, member of the Cabinet of EU Energy

Commissioner Günther H. Oettinger. In her key note speech, Jasmin outlined the status quo

of offshore wind energy and provided an insight into its policy prospects at a European level.

She stated that Germany and UK are frontrunners in offshore wind energy, but Europe needs

input from all regions, because renewable energy is a shared European issue. Jasmin pointed

out that the EU needs to provide a framework for safe investments in the renewables sector

(RES) in order to encourage investors. The European Commission (EC) requests a competitive

energy market without obstacles and discrimination.

She underlined that the North Sea Region is an important European OSW hub. At the same

time, she pointed out that the North Sea Grid situation needs to be explored in more detail.

By now, 8 % of the EU-wide energy consumption is covered by wind energy. The aim is to

realize 15 % in 2050. Jasmin Battista added that the security of energy supplies has to be

improved significantly in the future. Currently, the EU is too much dependent on imports.

Industrial scale offshore electricity production, interconnectors & meshed grids in the

North Sea. Presentation by Brendan Devlin

In a next step, Brendan Devlin, advisor at the Directorate General for Energy of the European

Commission, spoke on technical and political requirements for the further development of

electricity from OSW in the North Sea on an industrial scale. He raised awareness for cost

reduction opportunities in various fields of electricity production and meshed grids.

Brendan underlined that the EC would appreciate the creation of a forum for cost reduction

in the field of OSW. One important aspect that could be discussed there is shared

infrastructure, another aspect is the development of standards. Such a forum could obtain

political support from the EC.

Brendan Devlin (photo) explained that

tremendous cost reduction potentials are

present in the field of logistics optimization,

discovery risks, coordinated standardization

in wind turbine generator cost compression,

the alignment of regulatory regimes in the

North Sea, and knowledge transfer in risk

mitigation from other resources. Meshed

stations could reduce infrastructure costs.

Additionally, he pointed out that more studies on grid design are needed.

Brendan observed that especially Germany and the Netherlands make too few interventions

in EU energy policy issues. He predicted that the new EU Commissioner for energy will foster

the development of a common framework for OSW in the North Sea Region. Brendan also

underlined that the management of competing interests (socialization of costs, optimal grid

design and cost harmonization of spatial/environmental practices) between member states

is still a big task, e.g., due to a lack of trust and communication.

Funding opportunities for renewable energy topics. Presentation by Isabel Sünner

In a next step, Isabel Sünner, Senior Economist and representative of the Hamburg Institute

of International Economics in Brussels, presented framework conditions and funding

schemes for renewable energy topics (Horizon 2020, INTERREG VB, INTERREG Europe).

Isabel gave examples of relevant Horizon 2020 calls dealing with the topic of OSW.

She informed the audience that interregional co-operation (known as INTERREG C) will

continue under the name of INTERREG Europe (IE). IE addresses administrative bodies

implementing cohesion policy instruments on the regional level. One of the priority axes is

the “Low Carbon Economy”.

Isabel Sünner (photo) introduced key facts

for transnational cooperation under

INTERREG V B with a focus on three

programme areas: Northwest Europe (NWE),

North Sea Region (NSR) and Baltic Sea Region

(BSR). She presented the results of

stakeholder involvement processes, thematic

priority axes, budgets and the time line.

The first calls can be expected end

2014/beginning of 2015 (NSR, BSR) respectively first half 2015 (NWE). Isabel strongly

emphasized that the topics “environment” and “innovation are key topics in all three

programme areas and the related priority axes offer a lot of potential for OSW related

project applications.

Creativity techniques for project development. Presentation by Karsten Seidel

Dr Karsten Seidel, IkerConsulting, completed the first part of the workshop by presenting his

approach for process creativity and proposal definition (photo with Mary

Papaschinopoulou).

He gave an outlook on the second day of

the workshop which aims at receiving a

common understanding on the variety of

suggestions; classifying contributions into

actions of short, medium and long-term

duration; prioritizing those suggestions;

allocating activities, responsibilities and

resources for implementation as well as

reaching the first outline sketch of a

proposal idea.

Part B: Regional competence profiles in the field of offshore wind energy and

experiences from other projects

Offshore Wind Energy Market in Great Britain. Presentation by Chris Ashe

Chris Ashe (photo), director of the Greater Manchester Sustainable Engineering University

Technical College, examined the status quo and the prospects for the development of the

OSW market in the UK.

Chris stated that it is the industry´s strategy

to note the importance of scale to attract

investment and reduce cost. Furthermore,

he emphasized the cost reduction potentials

of logistics, asset management, and training.

The strategic partnership “Dundee

renewables” which is a collaborative and one

stop shop approach to information for

inward investors, was presented hereafter. It

operates infrastructure planning and

conducts supply chain management and skills development workshops.

Chris conclusively underlined that training standards currently differ too much within the EU

respectively from company to company. Standardization should in his opinion be industry-

driven (e.g., the creation of an industry forum), but the industry is not yet ready for that.

Brendan Devlin stated that a forum for standardization of training would be appreciated by

the EC.

Eemshaven: Hub in Offshore Wind Logistics. Presentation by Erik Bertholet

In the following presentation, Erik

Bertholet, Business Manager Logistics at

Groningen Seaports, presented the location

Eemshaven as an offshore hub on the Dutch

North Sea coast. He explained growth

perspectives and national policy framework

for OSW.

Erik (photo) stressed that Eemshaven is

equipped with special capacity for heavy

load equipment to serve offshore wind parks in the North Sea.

Hauke Groeneveld added that there are huge cooperation potentials between the ports of

Emden and Eemshaven.

Growth Area Ems-Axis. Presentation by Carolin Schuback

Carolin Schuback (photo), representative of

the Ems-Axis region, gave an overview on

the status quo and the potentials for the

offshore wind energy industry in the region.

Moreover, she presented results from her

current project European North Sea Energy

Alliance (ENSEA), particularly the energy

system integration platform and the joint

action plan for energy transition.

ENSEA proposes the alternative use of existing plants instead of cost-intensive

decommissioning (“green decommissioning”) as a well as on-site storage of OSW as natural

gas. ENSEA applies a quadruple helix structure as operational level.

South Baltic OFFER and Ecowinds projects. Presentation by Jonas Katz

Jonas Katz, PhD Student at the Denmark Technical University (DTU), introduced DTU’s OSW-

related activities and pointed out that the University has an Operation Research Institute

specialized in logistics problems. He presented project activities within South Baltic OFFER

(Wind Energy Atlas: model domains, meteorological conditions) and ECOWindS (FP7).

Afterwards, Jonas (photo) pointed out to

further needs for research, including

weather models / weather conditions;

optimizing installation and O&M;

coordination of spatial planning;

combining offshore wind farms and

international interconnectors (off-shore

grids); economic impact and market

integration; economics of offshore grids;

cooperation mechanisms for

interconnected offshore wind farms; international coordination of support schemes and

market integration; education of technicians and engineers; building of public and political

acceptance for OSW.

Blue Energy Cluster West Flanders. Presentation by Pieter Mathys

As a representative of the regional development agency of West Flanders (POM), Pieter

Mathys presented the local "Blue Energy Cluster".

Peter (photo) pointed out that Belgium is

number three in OSW installation and the

supply industry is developing. Oostende is

the major offshore hub in the country.

He underlined the need to put OSW in a

more positive perspective. So far, the

focus has only been on the costs and the

view on OSW has been too negative. In his

view, branding is important to improve

public acceptance for OSW in the North Sea Region.

Peter identified several fields of action for interregional cooperation in the OSW sector,

including training, branding and promotion of SMEs. The Blue Energy Cluster is especially

interested in projects in the fields of training and education (technical, safety, and academic

level); in the development of an international network to support SMEs (advice, workshops,

seminars, B2B) and in R&D projects to strengthen the research hub Oostende (i.e., test

infrastructure for OSW with focus on O&M).

From oil to wind? Utilizing many years of experience within the offshore oil & gas and

maritime industry. Presentation by Rosemarie F. Gee

Rosemarie Frigstad Gee (photo), Project

Manager at Norwegian Renewable Energy

Partners (INTPOW), threw light on the

situation of OSW in Norway. She pointed

out ways to take advantage of the

extensive experience in the field of

offshore oil and gas for wind energy.

Norway has great potentials for OSW, but

low unemployment rates, power

oversupply and a lack of special incentives

to invest in this field limit growth.

Rosemarie stressed that Norway´s key competencies in the field of OSW lie in the excellent

conditions for OSW development in the North Sea; competitive markets; large supply chain

of equipment and services; project management and advisory; vast offshore experience

from oil and gas sector as well as R&D. In her view, the creation of networking possibilities to

facilitate knowledge transfer as well as innovative and cost-effective technology

development within the OSW industry are important fields for interregional co-operation.

Brendan Devlin commented that Norway has to find a balance between conventional energy

assets and RES. He pointed out that from a political point of view Norway is the only energy

supplier for the EU without risk and should be included in standardization efforts.

During the joint networking dinner at Maison du Luxembourg,

Count Jacques de Lalaing (photo), Managing Director of the

Solar Power Group, and President of the Belgo-German

Association, held a dinner speech about his experiences in the

renewables sector: “A personal journey through concentrated

solar power (CSP) and renewable over the last 15 years”.

Part C: Discussion of project ideas

The second day of the workshop started with the discussion of

needs to tap cost reduction potentials in the area of OSW-

related logistics.

Repair and maintenance of offshore wind power stations. Presentation by Jürgen Göken

The first one to present was Jürgen Göken, Professor of Physics at the University of Applied

Sciences Emden-Leer. Jürgen explained that material damping, material selection, transport

of staff and spare parts, and cable repair strategies are important cost factors. He pointed

out that operations and maintenance (O&M) and offshore logistics have immense cost

reduction potentials. Jürgen mentioned three different maintenance concepts for OSW

power stations dependent from the distance to the coast: offshore-based; heliports and

workboat-based.

Additionally, he recommended an increased use of composite materials for OSW

components (optimized material selection) and stressed that the further development of the

supply chain could result in a higher productivity.

Cost reduction potentials in OSW-related logistics. Presentation by Hauke Groeneveld

In his presentation, Hauke Groeneveld, Project Manager at MARIKO, presented approaches

for cost reduction potentials in the field of offshore-related logistics. The offshore region

Ems-Axis was introduced as a region with a variety of players that operate in the OSW

sector. 30-40% of the region´s players are specialized in O&M and logistics.

Hauke (photo) listed elements of costs in an offshore wind project: certification and

approval, technology, installation, project contingencies, O&M; provisions for de-

commissioning and dismantling.

Hauke requested to consider not so well

known possibilities to reduce costs of

logistics. He explained that for example

repowering is a new aspect in logistics-

related costs. Hauke put great emphasis on

the idea that cost reduction throughout

the entire supply chain should be taken

into consideration. This should include

improving technology and productivity to

gain more weather windows.

Comments from the audience:

Chris Ashe stated that a sale of used OSW components to emerging countries could reduce

costs. For onshore wind, a second market is already flourishing. He added that the

internationalization of the supply chain in Scotland is not yet fully developed.

From the audience, Wim Stubbe (Port of Oostende) noted that cost reduction can be

achieved by multifunctional use of the offshore wind parks.

Pieter Mathys pointed out to the fact that the so called last nautical mile is most costly when

it comes to offshore operation and maintenance.

Chris Ashe underlined that there is a need for a transnational OSW stakeholder (e.g. North

Sea Region including Scotland).

Offshore wind RES opportunities – A Mediterranean island perspective. Presentation by

Omar Cutajar

The next presentation was held by Omar

Cutajar (Photo), Malta Business Bureau

Brussels, who threw a spotlight on the

development prospects for OSW on a

Mediterranean island.

Malta has the deepest waters within the

Mediterranean Sea, but technologies now

allow the installation of OSW. Omar

presented three possible locations for

future wind farms. The grid interconnection with the European continent will be ready in

2016. Omar explained that Malta is currently strongly dependent on importing energy. By

2020, Malta intends to cover 40 % of its energy consumption out of OSW.

Omar also addressed geographic particularities compared to the North Sea. In his view the

O&M costs for OSW in Malta will be lower than in the North Sea due to a lack of tides and

less strong swells and currents.

He added that the Maltese are interested to co-operate with an already established OSW

training center. Furthermore, Omar explained that Malta plans to develop a RES competence

center in order to safeguard further research in this field.

Project development

Finally, the most interactive part of the workshop began. The joint project development

session was facilitated by Karsten Seidel.

All workshop participants were asked to

state their expectations from an EU-

funded project.

In an interactive process, they defined the

biggest needs for action in the field of

OSW (photo), allocated priorities to those

needs and formulated their expectations

of possible solutions in the context of a

joint EU project.

After evaluating the results, the most pressing fields of action can be summarized in five

thematic blocks:

1) Strategic/political issues related to OSW

2) Testing of infrastructure

3) Training

4) Support to innovative SMEs

5) Financing

Conclusions and planning of the follow-up workshop by Hauke Groeneveld

Hauke Groeneveld outlined that the workshop has produced a great outcome and is an

excellent starting point to deep dive into concrete project ideas in the follow-up workshop

which is planned for November 2014 in Brussels. He announced to stay in contact with the

workshop participants in order to further discuss the potential project ideas.