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The importance of collaboration in the fast-growing offshore wind sector

Collaboration is key in the growing offshore wind sector. This article explores initiatives like GOWA and their impact on industry growth and insurance.

Collaboration in the offshore wind sector, especially given its growth trajectory and ever-increasing reach into new territories, has been identified as a key enabler to growth. Indeed, the formation of the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA), launched at COP27 in Denmark in partnership with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), was created to secure global collaboration and to ensure a more unified and coordinated approach to offshore wind development around the world. Twenty governments have since joined the GOWA, plus (more recently) the State of New York.

However, before the formation of GOWA in 2022, there already existed meaningful pockets of collaboration in the offshore wind sector. For example, the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult) in the UK was established in 2013. The ORE Catapult’s mission is to “deliver the UK’s largest clean growth opportunity by accelerating the creation and growth of UK companies in offshore renewable energy”. In pursuit of its goals, and according to the ORE Catapult’s Capturing Our Impact report, ORE Catapult is involved in a number of key strategic collaborations including Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence, the Celtic Sea Cluster, the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm and is a part of over 1,400 industry collaborations and over 900 academic collaborations.

Norwegian Offshore Wind (NOW), an industry network of over 400 members (the largest industry network in Norway), is another example of collaboration within the offshore wind sector. NOW seeks to create world-class supply chains for floating offshore wind by establishing various 'working groups' that serve as platforms for knowledge exchange, idea sharing, and fostering growth within the floating offshore wind industry. NOW is represented in over 12 countries, helping its members to gain access and succeed in the key offshore wind markets. For instance, in October 2024, the Northern Ireland Maritime & Offshore (NIMO) and NOW signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in the areas of offshore wind, energy storage and future fuels.

A Joint Industry Programme (JIP) is perhaps a more well-known collaboration between different parties. The Floating Wind JIP is a world leading collaborative R&D initiative between the Carbon Trust and 17 leading international offshore wind developers, created to overcome the challenges and investigate the opportunities of developing commercial-scale floating wind farms.

Another example of a JIP that involves a collaboration with the world’s leading offshore wind developers (and tier one suppliers), is one initiated in July 2024 that aims to commercialise a new foundation connection technology developed by the Netherlands-based company C1 Connections. “The goal of this JIP is to create a new standard for offshore wind connections. The feedback from all participating companies is that an alternative solution to the traditional bolted L-flange is highly needed to allow this industry to scale up further,” said Coen van Ruitenburg, Business Development Manager at C1 Connections.

Perhaps in a similar way to the burgeoning offshore wind sector, the insurance industry has also benefited from pockets of collaboration. A key example can be found in the work of the Joint Natural Resources Committee (JNRC). The JNRC comprises a ‘representative forum’ for the London marine energy market that allows, where appropriate, discussion of common issues or concerns. Current topics under discussion, for example, include sub-sea cables and offshore wind insurance clauses. The JNRC has produced a number of wordings and clauses that are frequently adopted by the insurance market, including the ‘Marine Warranty Surveyor (MWS) Scope of Work’. This ‘standard’ scope has arguably delivered clarity and consistency to this element of the insurance requirements, thus removing the need to tailor and, in some cases, obscure the value that the MWS can bring to a project.

While the insurance industry currently doesn't have a counterpart to the GOWA, this presents an opportunity for growth in addressing the key challenges within the offshore wind sector. For instance, sharing insurance claims data it could significantly enhance the handling of subsea cable claims, which have been a concern for the sector and contribute to rising insurance costs. It's also worth considering the increasing number of projects in the global pipeline and how the insurance industry can proactively support this growth through widespread standardization and other efficiency measures. Embracing standardization in areas like contractual risk allocation, policy language, and coverage parameters—similar to practices in the more established oil and gas sector—could simplify processes, ease the demands on specialized resources, and create a more welcoming environment for new insurance professionals. Additionally, this move towards standardization could be complemented by the development of internationally recognized offshore wind insurance training, making it easier to achieve a consistent and high-quality approach across the industry.

All of the above would of course need to be organized in a fully lawful and compliant way.

An insurance industry ‘GOWA’ could define the insurance industry’s role in the fast-growing offshore wind sector and would address those issues described above and more. As highlighted, the insurance industry already knows how to collaborate for the greater good, but where the industry is arguably falling short is at a strategic level. A level that delivers material change over time and that positions the insurance industry as a partner to the offshore wind sector.

Contact your local Marsh office to learn more and to access specialist offshore wind risk and insurance solutions.

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The importance of collaboration in the fast-growing offshore wind sector

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