WindEurope Offshore 2019 is where the journey begins. Taking place on 26th to 28th November, the Copenhagen event will gather the entire offshore wind industry as it prepares to scale up to meet the Paris Agreement. PES brings you a comprehensive preview to this key event.

Europe needs to reach 450 GW of offshore wind by 2050

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Offshore wind is set to play a major role in the world’s energy mix, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). In its ‘Offshore Wind Outlook 2019’, the IEA predicts that global offshore capacity may rise 15-fold by 2040. In the wake of this announcement by the IEA, Europe’s largest offshore wind conference and exhibition will take place in Copenhagen’s Bella Center.

WindEurope Offshore 2019 will attract more than 9,000 visitors and playing host to over 400 exhibitors. With offshore wind staking a claim to ever more of the globe’s energy mix, the decision to host this event in Copenhagen was easy. Unlocking the full potential of European offshore wind will require vision and commitment, and Denmark is setting an ambitious example for other countries to follow. Across Europe, Denmark has the highest share of wind energy in its electricity demand – 41% last year – and is home to many of the towering giants of the wind industry.

Indeed, it is ambition that sets the WindEurope Offshore 2019 event apart. The event theme is Our energy, our future. How offshore wind will help Europe go carbon-

neutral. Day One of the event will mark the launch of a flagship report bearing the same title. Both the report and the event are landmark events in the history of offshore wind energy. They present an unprecedented challenge to the wind industry: Europe needs major expansion of its offshore wind needs fleet in the coming decades. This event, and its report, are about how offshore will take its place at the core of Europe’s clean energy mix.

The conference: Building a 450 GW future

The IEA’s Executive Director, Faith Birol, recently said that offshore wind will be the number one source of power generation in a carbon neutral Europe by 2050. Wind energy now makes up 14% of the EU’s power demand. 20 GW of this is in Europe’s offshore fleet, whose 105 wind farms and 4,500 turbines now provide 60,000 jobs. The IEA thinks European offshore wind capacity will reach 130-180 GW by 2040. They say falling costs and ‘remarkable technological progress’ – bigger turbines and floating offshore wind – will drive progress. They also say that offshore wind is already as stable a form of power generation as coal and gas in many places, given its high capacity factors.

But in order to meet the Paris Agreement, Europe needs to deploy up to 450 GW of offshore wind by 2050. This is an enormous leap from where we are today. The impact would be significant. Not only would it play a vital role in decarbonising Europe’s economy, it would also translate into thousands of new jobs and provide 30% of Europe’s future electricity demand.

‘Falling costs and technology development have made offshore wind an obvious choice for countries as a source of energy,’ says WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson. ‘The IEA says we’ll have up to 130-180 GW by 2040. This is actually conservative: we’ll already have 90 GW by 2030, thanks to the increased commitments Governments have made since they started writing their National Energy & Climate Plans. The EU Commission’s eight scenarios for 2050 envisage between 230 and 450 GW by 2050, and that’s what we’re aiming for.’

One of the key elements to making this work, Dickson says, is collaboration and cooperation. ‘Sector-wide collaboration and innovations are key in making this transition a success,’ says Event Ambassador Pieter van

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Oord, Chief Executive Officer with Van Oord. Fellow Event Ambassador Philippe Kavafyan, CEO of MHI Vestas, agrees, saying ‘Offshore wind is now due to play a central role in the decarbonisation of Europe. Policymakers, corporates and citizens as a whole shall work together to unlock its full potential.’

Accordingly, the conference will focus on the concrete steps needed to actualise the

industry’s ambition. Over the three days of this event, attendees will get a global, first-hand view of the trends and the technologies, the opportunities and the challenges currently facing the offshore wind sector.

In addition to the coordination of policy and regulation between different countries, Europe will require a strategic and long-term

approach to marine spatial planning, incorporating the principles of multiple use and happy co-existence with other sectors. Europe also needs major investments in grid capacity, including a pooling of assets in hybrid, hub and spoke wind farms and grid connections.

The keynote speakers and high-level panellists represent a cross section of the political, technological, and market interests in offshore development. They include: Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen: WindEurope Chairman Gunnar Groebler; Lithuanian Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas; Laurent Michel, Director-General of the French Ministry for the Ecological and Solidarity Transition; RWE Renewables CEO Anja Dotzenrath; Claude Turmes, Eddie O’Connor, and many more.

Beyond high-level plenaries and ministerial sessions, more than 250 speakers will focus on issues in finance, system integration & electrification, happy coexistence with other sea users, policy & markets, science & research, resource assessment, O&M, supply chain and logistics, and turbine technology.

Offshore wind is a European innovation success story, and Europe is ready to do business and build partnerships with representatives from the US and Asia who will be in Copenhagen. This reflects the fact that offshore wind is breaking boundaries – geographically and technologically. As Event

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Ambassador Martin Neubert, CEO Offshore with Ørsted, says, ’A Europe that runs entirely on green energy will ensure sustainable growth for all Europeans. It is a giant task,’ Neubert says, ‘but we have the technologies and solutions at hand.’

Innovations like floating wind are poised to unlock theoretically unlimited expanses of ocean for offshore energy. And the growing power and potential of offshore wind is proving ever more attractive to investors, with fossil fuel players now actively pursuing synergies between offshore wind, oil and gas. Speaking about this, Event Ambassador Dorine Bosman (Vice President Offshore Wind, Shell) says, ’Shell is making progress in the energy transition: growing our renewable power projects, signing PPAs and supplying lower-carbon solutions to our customers. Our collaborative work in offshore wind, including innovative floating-wind technologies, can help deliver clean electricity at the sort of scale that Europe will need to become climate-neutral by 2050.’

The exhibition

This forward-thinking of the conference will also be on full display on the exhibition floor. More than 400 exhibitors representing 30 countries will be there. Exhibitors range from major league players in the offshore industry like to start-ups and community projects seeking to make vital networking connections and establish their brand. WindEurope deputy CEO Malgosia Bartosik says the event is ‘unbeatable as an opportunity to build contacts, promote your brand, exchange ideas, and connect with those at the forefront of offshore wind.’

One of the most notable additions to this

year’s event is the Innovation Park. Sponsored by InnoEnergy, the Innovation Park is a pavilion designed to showcase fresh voices and new ideas in wind energy. Start-ups and European Projects will give presentations on the Innovation Stage and network throughout the event.

The GWO-sponsored Safety, Skills and Training Zone is a unique 200m² area showcasing the industry’s commitment to an injury-free working environment. Visitors there will witness a spectacular series of demonstrations, including Sea Survival Training using a specially constructed 60m³ swimming pool, Advanced Rescue Training from a 6-metre high scaffold and Slinger

Signaller Training, incorporating crane, hook and load.

There will be daily sessions at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s Global Markets Theatre, an offshore wind installation game by DOB-Academy, and wind farm visits. Finally, as at all WindEurope events, there will be plenty of stand parties and receptions, including the Opening Reception at the Iberdrola stand on 26 November and the Gala Dinner on 27 November, taking place in the magnificent Copenhagen City Hall.

For more information on this event, and to register your place at WindEurope Offshore 2019, visit https://windeurope.org/offshore2019/

WindEurope Offshore 2019

Facts and Figures

What? Europe’s largest offshore wind conference and exhibition

Where? Center Boulevard 5, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark

When? 26-28 November 2019

Number of participants: 9,000+

Number of exhibitors: 400+

Number of speakers: 250+

Event Ambassadors

Philippe Kavafyan, Chief Executive Officer, MHI Vestas

Martin Neubert, CEO Offshore, Ørsted

Dorine Bosman, Vice President – Offshore Wind, Shell

Pieter van Oord, Chief Executive Officer, Van Oord

Credit: David Plas

Credit: David Plas

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