Offshore Wind Consultants Heads Down Under

International engineering consultancy Offshore Wind Consultants (OWC) is setting up an office in Australia.

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 metres 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 2GW 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,” said Will Cleverly, managing director of OWC.

”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.” 

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.

“OWC has 35 GW of offshore wind experience from involvement in more than 60 projects worldwide,” Healy said.

”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.” 

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.