Offshore Wind Energy Vessels Conference

Dr Mark Lawless and I attended the Offshore Wind Vessels conference in London. The event was a great opportunity to keep up to speed with the progress and potential developments of the offshore wind industry with a focus on the vessel utilised for the installation, operation and maintenance of offshore wind turbines.

The major themes of the conference were the standardisation of current practices in the offshore wind industry as well as how the sector must adapt to the challenges of the further offshore Round 3 wind farms and ever increasing turbine sizes.

We were not just at the conference for the delicious lunches, Mark was also there to give a joint presentation with ScottishPower Renewables, discussing the benefits of using an advanced metocean planning and forecasting techniques on long term project cost as well for day to day operations. A key focus of the presentation was JBA’s metocean planning tool, ForeCoast® Marine, which is used to assist with the planning and operation of offshore wind farms. The presentation was well received, generating lots of interest and simulating debate.

Alongside the informative presentations and workshops, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to meet with people from across the offshore wind sector to hear about other innovative technology.