Staying at a hotel in Manchester that took a quirky joy in celebrating Manchester’s weather (umbrellas hanging from the ceilings, wellies for door handles – you get the vibe), I got to thinking about new perspectives and green shoots of growth.
It was the annual Global Offshore Wind conference and exhibition, an opportunity to take the temperature on the sector and discuss “where to now?”. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, with plenty of recent progress but no shortage of developers able to share tales of woe and worry.
But I think the mood was well defined to me by one industry leader who usually has their finger pretty close to the pulse: “constructive”.
There is a danger at such events of being lulled into misperceptions. It’s a very small bubble (all the more so in the alternate venue of Manchester over London – much as I prefer it), with offshore wind talking offshore wind to, you guessed it, offshore wind. That is important but not always a realistic gauge of the wider world.
However, I sensed something a bit different: a sense of determination and increasing alignment. A media friend was more cynical, suggesting that no big contract or investment announcements suggested a lack of confidence in the sector, but I don’t think that was quite right.
Government was keen to stress the need for tight price controls, but no one was expecting any sudden bonanza of CfD largesse. Not long ago there were suggestions that investors were beginning to grow shy but that does not seem to be reflected at least in the insurance market, where I understand there is increasing interest and engagement.
Are we beginning to see offshore wind coming of age, with a maturity and resilience previously lacking? And perhaps an increased self-awareness and appetite to collectively move forward?
I’ve used this space previously to bemoan a failure to tell our story effectively as an industry and to risk losing the battle of hearts and minds in the face of concerted opposition. But conversation after conversation this week was aligned to doing precisely that: to getting out there and better reflecting the impact that is being felt right across the country, not just the promise of what we hope to achieve in the future but what can be seen and felt today. Jobs, investment and opportunity that are making tangible changes to people’s lives right here and now.
I got the opportunity to see just a few of the examples.
Sitting with the fantastic team from Pict Offshore under the imposing bulk of their GUSX2 personnel hoist, we were discussing with one developer how to gain traction for a new way of doing things.
Disruptive innovation will always face resistance from established thinking. Technology in renewables has developed in leaps and bounds, yet too often turbine access still relies upon technicians climbing up and down 30M+ ladders in harsh conditions, to and from pitching boat decks, often with long shifts and considerable boat journeys to contend with in addition. Pict provides an increasingly mature solution that enhances health and safety and delivers significant cost and operational benefits.
Designed and built in Fife, creating jobs, training graduates and apprentices and delivering growth, it has proven operational effectiveness not just here in the UK but overseas, with millions of pounds of exports already delivered. The question has to be not “why would you”, but rather, “why wouldn’t you” at least give careful consideration to an alternative way of doing thing? Surely we can progress beyond the ladder as a means of accessing heights at sea?
And maybe there is more than just the glimmer of consensus that the industry does need a different approach to fighting its corner, to proactively and proudly driving a narrative to all stakeholders that offshore wind is delivering tangible benefits.
I caught up with another company that I first came across when they were part of ORE Catapult’s Launch Academy programme in 2024. Then, Indeximate were in the very early stages of development, brilliant technical expertise with a great idea but immature product. Now they are doing extraordinary things. Their technology directly addresses one of the biggest and most expensive challenges in offshore wind: cable failure. Through accurate prediction and thus prevention, they are delivering 50% savings on inspection costs, 75% fewer cable failures and £19m cost avoidance on a 1GW wind farm. Now that capability is being expanded to encompass whole site and asset monitoring to better inform operators and deliver truly significant benefits. As a result, they have grown from 3 people to 10 and trebled revenues in just a couple of years.
Why wouldn’t we collectively embrace, celebrate and shout about such stories?
It was an energizing couple of days in the North West of England. No doubt budgets are tight, constraints exist and challenges remain aplenty. But they are being grasped and green shoots are not only developing but beginning to thrive and realise a potential that we have all long hoped for. A long way to go but perhaps the sunshine is beginning to peep through the clouds.