WindEurope CEO says oil and gas sector future in offshore wind

He set out where offshore wind stands today in Europe and the outlook for the industry. He described how the oil and gas sectors were benefitting significantly from its development, with many companies across the oil and gas value chain now playing an active role in offshore wind in areas such as cables, vessels, foundations, substations engineering and subsea surveys.

Dickson stressed that the opportunities will continue to grow strongly with today’s 11.5GW installed base set to rise to 23.5GW in 2020 and, if governments do the right thing, over 60GW in 2030. He explained how offshore wind in Europe accounted for nearly half of current clean energy investments in Europe (€14bn in H1 2016) and 14% of total global clean energy investments. Europe continues to lead the world with over 90% of global capacity. It is also leading the way in expertise with Block Island – the U.S.’ first offshore wind project – “made in Europe.” He explained that it is in the interests of the oil and gas sectors to harness this success.

The oil and gas supply chain showed real interest in the opportunities offshore wind offers. Delegates were impressed with the industry’s growth projections. There was significant interest also in the potential of “power-to-platform” applications to use floating offshore wind power to provide water injection for oil and gas production.