Eric Finé, Smulders: Integrate the Logistics!

Eric Finé, Business Development Manager at Smulders and one of the speakers at the “Supply chain in detail” session at the Offshore WIND Conference, has given his insight into the matters revolving around the offshore wind sector from the standpoint of an industry player focused on offshore wind farm substructures.

Smulders is looking to capitalize on its vast experience in offshore wind projects, both with foundations and the substations, Finé said. The company built the first foundation for an offshore wind farm in 2001 and is about to deliver its 1,500^th foundation.

Having that experience means knowing not all projects will be developed as planned, so Smulders scrutinises all the planned projects prior to bidding to work on them.

“My responsibility is to capitalize on this knowledge and really look to specific projects which we can follow and hopefully be awarded within next couple of years. At the moment, that means keeping an eye on the projects planned to be developed after 2018, because with the projects we have now we are fully booked,” Finé explained.

Regarding the topic he will focus on at the Offshore WIND Conference and its importance to the industry, Finé said he was pleased with the choice of the conference organiser to appoint the subject of logistics, as it is an underestimated part of the business.

Logistics should be integrated into the complete value chain, from engineering, through pre-fabrication and construction to installation of foundations, he pointed out.

On the final goal of the integration of logistics to help bring the offshore wind costs down, Finé said: “When something is going wrong, it immediately starts to add to the cost. We count on our suppliers to further integrate their services, including added services, and strive to cost reductions.”

“Second thing, as I am looking to the future, is what should suppliers do. One of the things is that suppliers should also emphasise on sustainable production of their part of the value chain,” Finé said.

In Flanders, Belgium, companies work with the CO₂ register where they can obtain a certificate that marks a place they have on the CO₂ ladder – the less CO₂ you produce, the higher you are on the ladder. “In my opinion, most of the suppliers should do the same and also market the fact that they have a sustainable business model, that they work with renewable energy, that they recycle, that they work with recycled parts, etc.”

Finé added that this could be very important within a couple of years, especially in the renewable energy industry.

Regarding his forecast for the future of the offshore wind sector, he said: “In general, predicting the future has always been difficult. We have seen in 2009 everybody saying: ‘We are going to build 1.5GW per year.’ At that time, Smulders made a large investment in Antwerp in Belgium and then the market slowed down, so it is always very difficult to predict what is going to happen in the future.”

He went on to say that steps should be taken towards getting rid of the subsidy scheme so that offshore wind becomes profitable without it, which would also give more certainty to the industry, since it would be less depending on governments. “Of course, at the same time, subsidies for the carbon energy production should also be reduced because we have to create a level playing field. If you go to the International Energy Agency website, you will see today that the carbon energy industries, such as oil and gas and coal, are even more heavily subsidised than renewable energies.”

Predicting what will happen after 2018, when Smulders completes work on its current pipeline of projects, is difficult because the sector is still subject to political decisions which come from the fact that both renewable energy and carbon power generation are subsidised, Finé explained. However, being free from subsidies could create an uneven playing field. “The answer is that we should keep lobbying and we should keep gaining the support from public for low-carbon energies.”

People should be more aware of the negative effects of carbon power generation and that renewables can change that, according to Eric Finé, who added that Europe is going a long way with that.

Public should provide support on the basis that renewable energy is the future and that carbon power generation exhausts can ruin our lives, which would then pressure the politics to keep the renewables industry alive. “Governments would then decide on whether to maintain the subsidies, or to lower the subsidies, but then also to lower them for the carbon power generation.”

Finally, when asked about the importance of events such as the Offshore WIND Conference in Amsterdam, Finé said: “I go to a couple of events, like the WindEurope 2016 Conference in Hamburg and Offshore Energy in Amsterdam, since these are big events where you can meet your other stakeholders, clients, suppliers, policymakers and influencers. It is important that we work together, that we listen to each other, and try to bring each other up on the ladder to see a more mature industry.”

Eric Finé studied business law at the University of Antwerp and has a 25-years plus experience in shipbuilding, including civil ships, naval ships as well as oil and gas structures. Being engaged in the offshore wind industry from 2009, Finé has contributed to the design and construction of installation vessels, offshore substations and offshore foundations.

The Offshore WIND Conference will take place on 24^th and 25^th October 2016 in Amsterdam RAI.