Norwegian companies enter offshore wind alliance

Aker Solutions, DeepOcean, and Solstad Offshore have entered into an alliance to combine their capabilities and expertise and form an integrated one-stop-shop provider for the offshore wind industry.

The Windstaller Alliance plans to offer product deliveries, fabrication services as well as marine and subsea operations and associated engineering services in the offshore wind sector, and will also pursue other offshore renewable energy segments, according to a press release from the three companies.

The new allies said they aimed to cut the amount of supplier interfaces, thereby reducing technical and commercial project risk, as well as execution time through better integration of services, project management and maritime asset utilisation.

The alliance will be a non-incorporated, asset light alliance, with no joint ownership or liabilities for vessels or other assets, except for specifically agreed projects.

The three companies said they would cooperate to jointly identify market opportunities and agree on a case-by-case basis which prospects and solutions to pursue. The exact execution scope and cooperation model on a specific project will be set up based on client preferences and market conditions.

Windstaller Alliance plans to cover all project phases in offshore wind and other renewables.

For the preparatory phase for marine operations of offshore renewables projects, the trio plans to deliver engineering services as well as subsea survey, inspection and site preparation services.

The alliance may also provide product deliveries such as subsea technologies plus fabrication of substructures carrying wind turbines, plus yard services such as logistics, site management and crane operations, as well as services to optimise product designs from a marine operations perspective.

For the installation phase, Windstaller Alliance can provide trenching and inter-array cable lay services, and conduct towing, mooring, hook-up and commissioning operations.

For the operations phase, the companies will offer life-of-field inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) services, Commissioning Service Operations Vessels (CSOVs) and maintenance, modification, and operations support for offshore structures.

In addition to setting up its joint offering, the three companies have, within the newly created Windstaller Alliance, outlined their joint commitment to reach a zero emissions target, with Aker Solutions, DeepOcean, and Solstad Offshore all announcing targets to cut emissions by 45-50 per cent by 2030.

A third of DeepOcean’s fleet is aimed to be on hybrid power by 2022, and the company considers a pilot upgrade to hydrogen fuel cells.

Solstad Offshore’s fleet currently has 15 vessels on battery or shore power, and the company expects to upgrade 30 per cent of its 90-strong vessel fleet to hybrid solutions by 2025.

Aker Solutions aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030.