Sparrows Gives Wings to Alpha Offshore. Asia Pacific, US and More Work in Europe on the Horizon

Following Alpha Offshore’s recent announcement on achieving a 56% increase in blade inspection operations this year, the company said the rise was mostly due to it now doing business under the umbrella of Sparrows Group, along with offshore wind sector’s progress and Alpha Offshore’s experience and know-how that are increasingly in demand.

This is according to Mikkel Lund, CEO of Alpha Offshore, with whom Offshore WIND spoke after the company reported on inspecting more than 4,000 blades in 2018. It also expects to hit a new milestone next year with 5,400 blade inspections already scheduled for Northern European projects alone.

According to Lund, this is not the final number as the company expects to bag more contracts between now and May 2019. Periodical inspections are carried out in the spring months to allow any repairs to be undertaken in the summer when the weather window is more reliable. This time pressure remains the biggest challenge for the blade inspection specialist.

Beyond May 2019, the company anticipates its work volume to grow even further, boosted by both the growing offshore wind industry and its emerging markets, and Sparrows’ global reach.

Sparrows Group took over the Danish business in December 2017, but Alpha Offshore has retained its autonomy in this new relationship.

When asked if the company is now tapping into projects Sparrows was already working on, Mikkel Lund said that Alpha Offshore is bagging work on its own and that it is now better positioned to do so, since its parent company has an established global presence.

The latest advanced blade repair project the specialist completed was for Nuon/Vattenfall at the Egmond aan Zee offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.

Alpha Offshore Plans on Being There for Taiwan, Australia and US

“The forecast for offshore wind in the European Union certainly means there will be even more blade inspections and repairs, and thus more work for us,” Mikkel Lund said in the light of the statement of IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol that wind will become European Union’s largest power source within a decade, with offshore turbines providing a big chunk of this energy source dominance.

Speaking about opportunities outside Europe, Lund revealed Alpha Offshore’s plans to expand into the offshore wind markets in Taiwan and U.S., which will take off soon, and he also said the company will establish an office in Australia to meet the demand in onshore wind energy projects.

As large-scale offshore wind farms are set to be built in Taiwan, across Asia Pacific and the U.S., Lund said that proximity to those projects for a blade inspection and repair company is essential, and Alpha Offshore is now well positioned to take the advantage of an early entrance into the markets with support from the Sparrows Group.

The company plans to set up its operations outside Europe in a way that the quality of its services is delivered at a same standard worldwide, while providing new opportunities for the local skilled workforce.

“In Taiwan, the U.S. and Australia, we will both recruit local personnel and send in our experienced staff. This way, we can best combine adding local content while keeping the ‘Alpha Offshore spirit’ to provide our expertise in new markets based on the track record we already have,” Lund said.

Written by: Adrijana Buljan, Editing: Adnan Duraković, Nadja Skopljak; Offshore WIND Staff