Edda Wind is adding two new Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOVs) to its fleet, a relatively new vessel type which pertains specifically to offshore wind.
The vessels are scheduled to enter service during Q3 2023, and Q2 2024, and will be used to service and commission windfarms. They will support turbine engineers as they operate on installations further and further out to sea, conveying them to the turbines themselves using motion-compensated gangways. Each vessel can accommodate up to 97 technicians and 23 marine crew.
Currently, Edda Wind has three offshore wind vessels in its fleet: service operation vessels (SOVs) Edda Mistral and Edda Passat, and multipurpose supply vessel Edda Fjord. These vessels operate on long term charters with Ørsted, Vestas and Ocean Breeze.
But it also has four CSOVs under construction following an order with Astilleros Gondán shipyard in Asturias, Spain, in May 2020. These will be delivered in 2022. That same yard has now been tasked with constructing two further vessels, which will bring Edda Wind’s fleet up to nine, a major expansion in its capabilities.
Blowing up
Given recent developments in the sector, the offshore windfarm fleet appears to warrant such an expansion. In previous coverage of the offshore windfarm segment, Engineering At Sea noted that economies of scale have rapidly decreased the costs associated with offshore wind, with projections for levelized cost of energy (LCOE) showing it becoming so affordable that it has encouraged many countries in Northern Europe to vastly revise up their expectations for the sector.
In some cases, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), it is already more cost-effective to build new renewable energy than to maintain the expense of running some existing fossil-fuel-fired power stations. Offshore wind, in the last decade, has fallen in price by around 30%.
Meanwhile, a UK-based research team has predicted that, within four years, wind energy will be cheaper than fossil-fuel energy in Germany, Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
“Ordering two more purpose-built CSOVs will further strengthen Edda Wind’s leading position within offshore wind,” said Edda Wind CEO Kenneth Walland. “Tremendous growth is expected in the offshore wind market over the next decades, and Edda Wind intends to be a world-leading provider in this segment.
“It is crucial to be able to deliver quality vessels with predictable delivery times in the wind segment. We are very happy to see Gondán as the shipyard for these latest vessels in addition to the vessels they are already building for Edda Wind. We know their capabilities well, and the yard has proven to deliver the quality we require within the agreed delivery times.”
More on offer
In further testament to offshore wind’s strong prospects, Edda Wind’s owners Wilhelmsen and Østensjø announced in March that they intend to seek an IPO on the Euronext Growth Oslo.
“We believe this is the right timing to commence a process of listing Edda Wind,” said Håvard Framnes, chair in Edda Wind. “Within the next decade, the world’s need for renewable energy will see exponential growth. With our ambitions, this journey will require significant investments to capitalize on the market opportunities ahead of us.”
“Our clear ambition is to be a player in renewable energy and decarbonization,” said Thomas Wilhelmsen, CEO of the Wilhelmsen group. “Edda Wind is a growing company, rapidly expanding its fleet with future-focused, emission free vessel technologies, with competencies and a culture which perfectly complements our own, upping our stake in the company was not a difficult decision.
“However, the tremendous growth expected in the offshore wind market over the decades to come and our ambitions to be an integral part of that journey will require significant investments. To be able to capitalize on the market opportunities ahead, we have together with Østensjø decided to prepare for an initial public offering of Edda Wind”.