In the first half of 2015 the European offshore wind industry installed more new capacity than in any other year according to the European Wind Energy Association. The future development of this fast growing sector, together with the challenges and opportunities it presents to the rotorcraft industry, are the subject of a new Focus On session within theHelitech International Business and Strategy Conference. The session takes place on the afternoon of Wednesday 7 October at ExCeL London, the Helitech International 2015 venue.
The scene will be set by Steve Robertson, Director, Douglas-Westwood, whose subject is the offshore wind and offshore helicopter markets to 2024. His presentation on the offshore wind market will include forecast installations and expenditure, segmentation by key countries and the impact that the changing nature of offshore wind farm projects will have on personnel transport. In assessing the off-shore helicopter markets he will look at the oil & gas industry, counter cyclicality factors, the likely requirements of offshore wind, and ‘the size of the prize’.
The growing importance of offshore wind to the UK’s energy mix is highlighted by the fact that the nation has more offshore wind turbines than the rest of Europe combined. As manager of the UK’s seabed, the Crown Estate plays a major role in the development of the offshore renewable industry so the views of Matthew Clear, Senior Development Manager – Strategic Workstream, The Crown Estate, are particularly important. The Crown Estate is collaborating with RenewableUK to produce a set of guidelines for offshore aviation operations to assist renewable developers, operators, and helicopter service providers alike to devise suitable strategies. Matthew Clear’s presentation will include the potential for helicopters to be part of the access mix for construction, operations and maintenance phases, and the progress being made to develop a set of aviation guidelines for the offshore renewables.
How to access the market
How does an operator enter this significant and growing market? Johan H. Hansen, Managing Director, Waypoint North will review the evolving role of helicopters in the offshore wind market including a look at the range of potential helicopter missions and helicopter airframe requirements for the sector today and in the future. He will also explain the helicopter services procurement process, including the expectations of the offshore wind sector and how to tender for business.
The perspectives of a major platform OEM are provided by Carl Ockier, Flight Test Engineer, Airbus Helicopters. His presentation is entitled, ‘How Technology is Meeting the Challenges of Offshore Wind Operations’ and will include the flight safety aspects of offshore wind park operations, with a specific look at single engine failures during hoist operations. There will also be a review of operational challenges and how they can be met by aircraft, avionics and autopilots.
Operator experience
The voice of operator experience will be provided byBernd Brucherseifer, Managing Director, HTM Helicopter Travel Munich. HTM Helicopter has been involved in the offshore wind sector since 2009 and is a global leader in hoist operations and training. Bernd Brucherseifer will describe how the requirements of the offshore wind sector have developed over the past five years and how operations and missions will evolve in the future. He will also focus on mission-specific factors, covering the key performance requirements for offshore wind operations and how HTM is evolving operational procedures
The session concludes a with panel discussion where the speakers will be joined byRoberto Garavaglia, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, AgustaWestland.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
Civil, Helitech 2015, News, Windfarms
