Vattenfall Forms Offshore Wind Top Team

Vattenfall has hired Siemens Gamesa’s Chief Executive Officer in North America, Jacob Nørgaard Andersen, and Senior Vice President from Ørsted Energy, Mats Vikholm, to help the Swedish energy company develop the next generation of offshore wind farms.

Andersen will start in Vattenfall on 1 January 2018 as Head of Engineering, and Vikholm started in December as Head of Wind Farm Design.

“In order to win the future tenders for offshore wind, it becomes crucial to proactively drive the development of tomorrow’s wind technologies. Vattenfall has successfully done this in connection with the Danish offshore wind farms Kriegers Flak and Vesterhav South and North, which we won at record-low prices,” said Michael Simmelsgaard, Head of Offshore Wind in Vattenfall.

“It goes without saying that we need to have the best people with hands-on experience when it comes to wind technology, farm design and the process itself to be able to excellence in the future. Therefore, it is a bit of scoop that Vattenfall now hires two of the best wind profiles.”

Andersen, returning to Denmark after eight years in North America for Siemens Gamesa, will ensure technological market knowledge and challenge suppliers to develop future wind turbine solutions, Vattenfall said.

“Vattenfall has a strong position in the offshore market. The company’s approach to innovation, and the way in which the technology of the future is fully integrated into the core of the cooperation with the suppliers, is exciting and right. Traditionally, developers have said to the suppliers, we need components X, Y and Z. What does that cost? Looking forward, we must turn the process around and ask what technology do we need in order to make the most of an offshore wind farm? Can you invent that? I am looking forward to develop that approach further,” said Andersen.

Vattenfall’s approach has secured the company the right to build all planned offshore capacity in Denmark towards 2022. The new farms will increase Denmark’s wind production by more than 20 per cent. Recently, Vattenfall placed the world’s largest offshore turbine order in 2017 with Siemens Gamesa.

Vikholm is the head of the new Wind Farm Design division which will collect and optimize experience from all parts of wind turbine projects.

“Vattenfall is interesting because the offshore wind organization is agile and highly skilled. This combination is essential in a rapidly changing market and in order to develop the next generation of offshore wind farms. So far, the main focus has been on optimizing the technology – the turbines. The next step will be to optimize all aspects of the project, not least the cooperation between developer and suppliers. Because it is through closer integration that innovation and additional cost reduction are achieved,” said Vikholm.