Logistics and Supply-Chain Management in Offshore Wind Farm OWF Applications

摘要

Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) operations are on a growth trajectory and it is expected that, by the end ofrnthe current decade, there will be multiple nations employing this technology as part of their energy supplyrnportfolio. Most of the currently operating offshore wind farms are located in Northern Europe and pilotrnprojects have started taking root in other parts of the world, such as the Northeastern United States. Onernof the significant differentiators between these new entrant countries and the established ones, in terms ofrnOWF operations, is the existence of an established and operating supply-chain management system. Thernobserved tendency in new entrants is that the OWF developers tend to bring installation personnel andrnequipment, such as purpose-built installation vessels, from overseas through lease agreements, etc., sincernsuch knowledge and infrastructure is non-existent in the host country. In the example of United Statesrn(US), strong enforcement of the Jones Act[1] and the Cargo Preference Act[2], which respectively requiresrnthat goods transported by water between US ports be carried in US-flagged ships, owned, operated andrnconstructed by US citizens and permanent residents, as well as legislation for waterborne transportationrnof cargoes in US-flagged vessels, further complicates the operation of foreign flagged, manned andrnconstructed vessels in US waters. Going head-on into these obstacles is expected to reveal itself as arnsignificant challenge for the new entrant nations in the relatively young OWF market as the supply-chainrnmanagement system develops and matures over the years towards self-sustainability, without externalrnsupport from other regions of the world.