DNV GL’s Hamburg Offshore Wind Conference Kicks Off

DNV GL is returning with its annual offshore wind event, the Hamburg Offshore Wind Conference, on 2nd and 3rd April 2014.

Now in its twelfth year, the event brings industry leaders together in Hamburg to examine the technical, governmental and financial progress of the German offshore wind market.

Following the recent review of the German Renewables Law (EEG), the German government has determined to make cost-effectiveness and reliability central aspects in the expansion of renewable energies, increasing the share of green sources in the energy mix between 40 to 45% by 2025. The recent modifications to the EEG will have a significant impact on Germany’s offshore wind market, as the updated paper outlines a reduction in the national targets for offshore wind power, decreasing from 10 MW to 6.5 GW by 2020 and from 25 GW to 15 GW by 2030.

Taking the recent political developments and guidelines into account, energy stakeholders are encouraged to use DNV GL’s offshore wind conference as a platform to find new approaches to ensure continued innovation and future developments in the sector under the new governmental guidelines.

As the offshore wind industry is still relatively young, assessing the successes and challenges of previous projects is invaluable to developing new project models and technologies. Event participants will have the opportunity to find out first hand from leading project developers about the challenges and lessons learned from major projects and how operation and construction plans are proceeding at German offshore wind farms.

The two-day event covers a wide range of presentations and panel discussions, providing an all-encompassing insight into the current market environment.

Representatives from Siemens, E.ON, PricewaterhouseCoopers, German wind associations, politicians, utilities and many others will be talking about:

• Offshore wind projects in Germany – Lessons learned so far
  How will the EEG review by the German Government impact future project portfolio and the development status of North Sea and Baltic Sea projects?
• Finance instruments – How to cut costs and boost efficiency
  Is project finance still relevant or are other finance models more attractive? When will the learning curve begin and which cost reductions can be achieved?
• The contribution of the offshore industry to the success of the Energy transition – panel discussion
  Discussing the market environment, infrastructure issues, legal frameworks and perspectives for the offshore industry in Germany
• New developments in offshore turbine technology – panel discussion
  At the heart of offshore project cost reduction are the rapid advancements in turbine technology. But what turbine technical innovations will enhance efficiency and does turbine size matter when it comes to cost reduction?

Peter Frohböse, Head of Offshore Germany at DNV GL commented: “The offshore wind industry is still in its infancy compared to other renewable energy markets such as solar and onshore wind. Lessons learned from previous projects provide vital experience, which is essential to ensure that the offshore wind industry is continuing on its successful path.”

Looking at the highlights of the event he continued: “Bringing the industry together and encouraging the active exchange of experiences from all stakeholders is a unique opportunity to gain current insight into the global offshore wind industry as a whole, with a detailed focus on the status of German offshore wind projects.”

The event is taking place at the Hotel Hafen in Hamburg and simultaneous German–English / English–German interpreting is available during all conference sessions.

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Press release, April 2, 2014; Image: DNV GL