OWEC Tower, headquartered in Norway, is a leader in the design and engineering of offshore wind turbine foundations. The company has developed a proprietary jacket foundation design known as OWEC Quattropod®, which is currently the only proven jacket design in the market. The OWEC Quattropod® design separates and optimises the piling and jacket installation process, resulting in reduced installation costs and faster project delivery.
With the aim of getting a slice of the offshore wind foundation business, this investment will enable Keppel Offshore & Marine to tap on OWEC Tower’s expertise to further develop its business in the design and construction of offshore wind turbine foundations as well as installation and support vessels thereby providing value-added solutions to its customers.
Mr Michael Chia, Director of Group Strategy and Development at Keppel said, “We are seeing offshore wind energy rapidly gaining traction around the world and a large number of offshore wind farms are under construction and planning. This will result in a huge increase in demand for foundation structures. With OWEC Tower’s leading design in this segment, our partnership puts us in the ideal position to capture a share of this market.
“As offshore wind farms move into deeper waters with bigger capacity turbines, a large number of jacket foundations will be required. With our experience and expertise as a leading rig builder, we see good potential in supporting OWEC Tower to meet this demand in a cost-effective and reliable manner. Together with our proprietary designs for offshore wind turbine and foundation installers, we are confident of further enhancing our suite of solutions for the offshore wind industry.”
To-date, OWEC Tower is the only company with a track record of having its jacket foundation design installed for offshore wind farms. Projects include the Beatrice pilot test off the coast of Scotland, the German pilot project Alpha Ventus, Ormonde wind farm in the UK, and the Belgian Thornton Bank project.
Europe is currently the leader in offshore wind energy. According to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), at the end of 2010, Europe had 1,136 offshore wind turbines installed and connected to the grid on 45 wind farms in nine countries. In total, these have a power capacity of 2.9 GW and can produce 11.5TWh of electricity in a normal year.
Offshore wind will become increasingly important as European countries move towards renewable energy. EWEA has set a target of 40 GW installed by 2020 and 150 GW by 2030. The huge number of offshore wind farms under construction and planning will result in a corresponding demand for foundation structures. Investments in offshore wind farms in Europe alone are projected at €209 billion from 2010-20.
The above foregoing transaction is not expected to have any material impact on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of Keppel Corporation for the current financial year.
With a global footprint in over 30 countries, Keppel Corporation leverages its international network, resources and talents to grow its key businesses. It aims to be the Provider of Choice for Solutions to the Offshore & Marine Industries, Sustainable Environment and Urban Living, guided by its key business thrusts of Sustaining Growth, Empowering Lives and Nurturing Communities.
Keppel Offshore & Marine, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, is a leader in offshore rig design, repair and construction, ship repair and conversion and specialised shipbuilding.
It has been able to leverage and innovatively apply its market knowledge, rig technology and construction expertise to offer prime solutions that enhance the productivity of installing and maintaining offshore wind farms at various phases.
Keppel O&M first entered the offshore wind energy sector in 2010 when its subsidiary Keppel Verolme in the Netherlands, won a contract to build an electrical transformer and maintenance platform for a German offshore wind farm. This was followed closely by the commercialisation of its proprietary KFELS MPSEP (multi-purpose self-elevating platform) concept in partnership with the Seafox Group. Seafox 5 is Keppel’s first offshore wind installation vessel.
OWEC Tower AS (“OWEC Tower”) is a Norwegian company involved in offshore wind turbine foundation design and engineering. OWEC has developed a proprietary jacket foundation design known as OWEC Quattropod® that is patent protected and is currently the only proven jacket design in the market.
