Lately, MaritimeDelta has shared an article about three drivers why the majority of the Dutch offshore/maritime-engineers will work in the offshore wind soon. Let's get into details about what was decided by the Dutch Maritime Services.

Yes, The Size Does Matter

The potential for size growth in offshore wind, as compared to its competing renewable energy sources, is a significant advantage. Engineers had to come up with a variety of ideas in order to generate power from sustainable resources.

In order to be sure that you're looking at the most cost-effective solution, it's important to calculate a Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) for each technology. Obviously, a low LCoE is required, with an LCoE of 50-75€/MWh for offshore wind in the Netherlands North Sea (in accordance with Dutch law). Size does matter over other renewable energy sources; offshore wind is distinct from all others in one respect: size optimization. Compared to other alternative energy sources, offshore wind is unique in that it allows you to size up.

The capability of offshore wind energy to fully replace fossil-fueled electricity generation in the Netherlands is already well-proven. Excellent news for the maritime industry. Today, 1GW of offshore wind power is operational in the Dutch North Sea, which may be expanded to 50GW with further development. That's a lot of turbines: approximately 2500-5000 (of 10-20MW). For many generations, there will be a lot of hard work.

Seeking New Technologies

When a market expands, a fleet of specialized dedicated vessels becomes more cost-effective than a fleet of many huge general-purpose vessels. The fleet diversification occurs one tug at a time. The large offshore oil and gas industry demonstrates that maritime services are highly specialized in terms of the activities they perform.

Don't you think that in order to provide tailored cost-effective solutions for the offshore wind sector, there will be a maritime service development for offshore wind?

I'm confident that it will occur, therefore there is a high demand for offshore/maritime engineers to create new technologies to adapt maritime services to offshore wind. For the next decade or two, there will be a lot of work for creative offshore/maritime engineers.

The Dutch Maritime Cluster's Competitive Advantage

However, despite the fact that I spent six years in Asia, I believe the Dutch maritime cluster has a good chance for success.

First and foremost, the Netherlands has a natural permanent strategic advantage because of its coastal ports: excellent inland access, muddy/sandy-soils that allow easy depth control as well as a solid foundation for jack-up vessels, an open economic system that allows foreign companies to establish wind farms there. As a result, Dutch ports continue to be a sustainable competitive ground for offshore wind terminals.

Second, we stay competitive on the ship's side. Although Asian shipyards are strong competitors when it comes to upgrading old ships with cutting-edge technology, the Netherlands is a stable logic site for doing so. In terms of newly built vessels, I believe that Dutch maritime/offshore engineers are sustainably competitive.

The Netherlands has a well-established maritime cluster, which serves the offshore wind sector with turbine designers, contractors, ship owners, terminals, vessel designers, equipment builders, universities, and conversion yards.

The maritime cluster's members collaborate, resulting in synergies that contribute to the country's competitiveness in international competitive services. We at Tetrahedron feel we can continue to improve these synergy levels by automating engineering communication in the long run.

Bottom Line

Due to the prospect of offshore wind taking off and the growth in demand for a diversified fleet with cutting-edge technologies, we anticipate a huge number of opportunities for offshore/maritime engineers. The Netherlands' geographical position and thriving maritime sector provide it with a competitive advantage in the offshore wind maritime services market.

You will most likely be a part of the world's biggest maritime service sector if you are an offshore/maritime engineer in the Netherlands and enthusiastic about working in the offshore wind sector. Offshore wind businesses have a bright future ahead.