OEEC 2024: A Lot to Talk About

In a little more than five years, renewable energy targets set for 2030 will come knocking on the door. Whether they will be reached, missed or overshot, depends on multiple factors, most of which concern policymakers and the energy sector itself.

At the end of 2023, the EU increased the binding renewable energy target for 2030 to 42.5 per cent, encouraging countries to aim for 45 per cent. The US has a goal of 80 per cent of renewable energy generation by 2030. China, which is still predominantly powered by fossil fuels, has ramped up renewable energy construction and reported reaching its 1,200 GW wind and solar energy target for 2030 six years earlier, in July 2024.

In the offshore arena, wind leads the renewable energy way and has grown into a mammoth industry, given its potential to install large generation capacity far away from land.

Since floating wind technology can be deployed even farther offshore, this segment of the offshore wind industry is also gaining momentum. With a few projects involving the decarbonization of offshore oil and gas assets already underway and its off-grid potential, there are more than a couple of routes to market for floating wind.

“Floating wind turbines offer more options to solve the puzzle of achieving a fast energy transition in the coming years”, said Axelle Viré, Professor of Floating Wind Energy and Head of Department at TU Delft. Viré will be one of the panellists of the Floating Wind conference session at the upcoming Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference (OEEC) in Amsterdam.

Furthermore, the number of wave and tidal energy projects is also increasing, albeit at a pace slower than with the already established wind energy technology. Floating solar is also entering the scene, most notably as an addition to offshore wind farms, so the marine energy industry is now buzzing with activity.

Renewables are also playing an increasingly significant role in the production of hydrogen and clean fuels, creating an unbreakable link between multiple industries, some of which have previously been concentrated within their own domains.

The global quest to achieve the goals set under the Paris Agreement is joined by carbon capture and storage (CCS) as well as decarbonization technologies throughout the supply chains and the wider economy.

Still, some hurdles remain, especially in moving new projects to deployment faster and building them with the existing supply chains.

On the policymaking side, several governments around the world are working on setting up systems to better support new technologies in the energy sector and streamline permitting to accelerate project buildout. New rules are also being introduced in tenders to not only include but also enhance nature through project design.

Initiatives on new policies and regulations to speed up the deployment of offshore wind farms, as well as other renewable energy and clean fuel projects, have been spurred by both national clean energy ambitions and the industry itself as it oftentimes faced slow and cumbersome permitting systems.

In offshore wind, the supply chain is also one of the challenging areas as it is expected to become more strained as both the number of projects and the sizes of wind turbines continue to grow. With floating wind joining the stage, especially with options for in-port maintenance, existing vessels and ports serving the industry are anticipated to soon become stretched to their full capacities.

The industry and governments are starting to join forces in this area to ensure that national renewable energy objectives are reached. With ports, in particular, the collaborative approach crosses country borders and spans several sectors.

“Port logistics is an important part of the equation to reduce the LCOE. We will take our responsibility, and we recognize that this is not possible without cross-border collaboration”, said Tommy Sandtorv, Chief Commercial Officer at Norway’s Karmsund Port Authority, also a panellist of the Floating Wind conference session at the upcoming OEEC 2024 event.

The session will also host Richard den Hollander, Global Business Development and Account Management Director at Seaway7, and James Young, Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer at JDR Cable Systems, who will provide insight into the industry from the perspectives of an offshore construction specialist and a subsea power cable supplier.

“As we move towards a future powered by renewable energy, every offshore wind farm, offshore substation and cable becomes a critical piece of the larger energy puzzle. These aren’t just single projects—they are part of an increasingly interconnected offshore grid”, said Saskia Jaarsma, Head of Offshore Development – Large Projects Offshore at TenneT.

Saskia Jaarsma is joining OEEC 2024 as a panellist in the Grids & Interconnectors session which will also host speakers from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), TNO, and RWE.

Floating wind and transmission systems are just two of the many topics that will be the focus of this year’s Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference (OEEC).

This year’s event theme is Harmony and throughout the exhibition floor, the conference, as well as other parts of the event program, OEEC aims to showcase the increasing collaboration between the industries and their verticals, and spur stronger ties between multiple players across the sector.

New tender designs and requirements will be the focal point of the Innovations for Tenders panel and the supply chain will also have its own dedicated session, as will CCS.    

“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is vital to the UK reaching net zero by 2050. The NSTA has a significant role to play in realising the UK’s CCS potential”, said Alistair Macfarlane, Manager UK Carbon Transportation and Storage at the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) and one of the panelists at the CCS conference session at this year’s OEEC.

The Stage will offer more knowledge sharing and opportunities to keep up with developments in the offshore energy sector. David Molenaar, former CEO at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy BV, and Manon van Beek, CEO at TenneT, will be among the speakers.

Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference is held in Amsterdam, at the RAI Amsterdam convention centre, where all the industries of the offshore energy sector come together once a year to meet. OEEC 2024 will be held on 26 and 27 November.