The Offshore Wind Conference Science Meets Industry

Professor Finn Gunnar Nielsen from BOW welcomed "Friends of the wind", followed by Jan Fredrik Stadaas from Equinor who addressed offshore wind's past, present and future. Stadaas highlighted that it takes time to develop something new, that there is no "quick fix" in terms of getting results, and that one cannot do it alone. 

The need for collaboration, is perhaps a reason why several companies have formed consortiums within offshore wind development, and BKK's Niklas Forsberg termed BKK's collaboration with Lyse and Shell a "great love affair". In addition to Forsberg, representatives from the consortiums Norseman Wind, Deepwind and Vårgrønn discussed their ambitions and challenges in terms of development of offshore wind in Sørlige Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord. 

Technological innovations and research within the field was also discussed. Morten Bjerkholt from Eelume introduced the audience to swimming robots, while Camilla Sætre adressed SFI Smart Ocean's sensor- and communication system. Joachim Reuder from BOW explained the usage of drones in wind energy research, while BOW's PhD-candidate Ida Marie Solbrekke's research is on optimal sites for wind farms. 

DOF Subsea, NORCE and Kongstein shared experiences from the industry, where they among other things, showed pictures and illustrations that gave descriptive examples of the dimensions in terms of turbine size.

Finally, there was a panel discussion that adressed the legal challenges within offshore wind. There was a broad agreement in the panel about the necessity of a legal framework and the need for it to be in place soon.

Offshore Wind will be the most important electricity provider in Europe by 2040

Finn Gunnar Nielsen