International engineering consultancy Offshore Wind Consultants (OWC) is setting up an office in Australia, as offshore wind plans in the country are moving forward.
The International Energy Agency’s recently launched “Offshore Wind Outlook 2019” has identified more than 7,000TWh per year of offshore wind technical potential (roughly 2,000GW of capacity) in waters below 60 meters offshore Australia. The potential adds up to 16,000TWh per year when considering deeper waters.
Currently, the most advanced Australian offshore wind project is the Star of the South, which is being developed by Australian headquartered Offshore Energy and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
“With experience from supporting offshore wind developers and investors all over the world, our strategy is to leverage our global expertise via a local presence with deep understanding of local risks. Although a lot of work can be done remotely, we need feet on the ground locally to provide the best possible support to local developers, which is why we are establishing ourselves in Australia,” Will Cleverly, managing director of OWC said.
OWC’s main office in Australia will be located in Perth, Western Australia, with a satellite office in Melbourne, Victoria.
Master mariner Simon Healy will head up OWC’s operation in Australia. Throughout his career, Healy has held senior management roles in Australia, Singapore, Middle East and West Africa. He has broad experience from offshore operations, including cable installation and maintenance, offshore construction, and offshore supply and logistics, and a deep understanding of the commercial, contractual, technical, HR and HSEQ aspects of offshore operations.
“OWC has 35 GW of offshore wind experience from involvement in more than 60 projects worldwide. But the company recognises that each project and market bring unique challenges. For example, offshore wind in Australia will bring specific project risks such as industrial relations, environmental compliance and weather downtime, amongst others. All of these have the potential to increase project costs significantly if not managed carefully at an early stage of the project. This is where OWC comes in,” Simon Healy said.
OWC will also be able to draw upon the marine and offshore competence of sister company AqualisBraemar’s network of specialists in Australasia and the Asia Pacific region.