Over the last few years, many statements have been made concerning growth in offshore wind turbine and foundation installation demand.
These statements have been followed, in some cases, by firm orders for high-specification vessels, mainly from established players.
However, many of the announcements remain unconverted into shipyard orders.
According to a new report released by Intelatus Global Partners, close to 30,000 increasingly large turbines and foundations will be installed in the international bottom-fixed offshore wind market between 2022 and 2035.
Offshore wind activity was until recently centered in northwest Europe and China, driven by government subsidies provided to support energy transition targets.
Going forward, new European markets will emerge off the coasts of the Baltic, Atlantic, and Mediterranean.
Activity will be seen in the wider Asian region, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India.
The US will emerge as one of the largest bottom-fixed installation markets during the forecast period.
Several of the new offshore wind markets are shaped by local content preferences impacting, to various degrees local ownership, registration and flagging, crewing and vessel build content.
Wind turbine and foundation installation vessel demand is rapidly changing.
Until recently, this requirement has been largely satisfied by wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) and heavy lift vessels and semi-submersibles designed for the oil & gas and port/salvage markets (HLCVs and HLSSs).
Market requirements have now firmly shifted to purpose-built next generation WTIVs and WFIVs - foundation installation vessels capable of handling the largest bottom-fixed monopile and jacket foundations.
Additional turbine and foundation installation vessels will be required to meet international demand in the forecast period after the middle of the decade.
The decision to invest in new vessels and upgrades will be influenced by a number of underlying market conditions, which Intelatus examines in depth in its report.
These are the findings of a new report by Intelatus Global Partners. The report presents Intelatus' analysis and forecast of the international bottom-fixed offshore wind turbine and foundation installation vessel market through 2035.
The 130+ page report provides a guide to understanding the drivers that will shape requirements in this growing, globalizing, and technically evolving industry. The report examines the structure of the installation industry, profiles the underlying market drivers, forecasts wind installation activity through 2035 and identifies installation vessels required to meet future demand.
For more information about the Intelatus Global Partners U.S. Offshore Wind Report, please visit www.intelatus.com or contact Michael Kozlowski at +1 561-733-2477 or Philip Lewis at +44 203-966-2492