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www.sname.org/sname/mt October 2012 days a year. DNV was the technical delivery consultant for the marine access competi- tion. e decision makers at CT believe that the global market opportunity for these wind turbine access solutions could be worth more than $3 billion by 2020. DNV also is maintaining its focus on knowledge development and sharing with the industry. An update to the recognized standard for wind structures, DNV-OS-J101, addressed the key challenges faced by the industry. Closely related to this, signicant progress has been made within the JIPs on grouted connections with shear keys, subsea cable risks, and floating offshore wind turbines. DNVs position as a certi- cation and advisory company was further strengthened with the merger, earlier this year, with energy certication, testing, and consulting company KEMA, whose abili- ties will move DNV further across the wind energy value chain. Electri?cation of the energy system It is important to recognize that a higher share of offshore wind power and other renewables will require new high-voltage transmission capacity, generation back-up capacity, and the development of smart grid? solutions to manage high variabil- ity and intermittence. There are several key areas in Europe where grid capacity has to be signicantly upgraded to reach the required transmission capacity. One of them is Germany, where the oshore wind power built up along the North Sea and Baltic coastlines has to be transferred down to the industrial heartland in the south of the country. Another is the North Sea, where the huge oshore wind farms in Denmark, Germany, and the U.K. will have to be connected, not only to shore but eventually also between the countries. It has already been recog- nized that the mountains of Norway hold a potential solution to the crucial issue of balancing power. Norway has the poten- tial to become the so-called battery for Europe? by storing energy from the off- shore wind farms in its huge hydropower reservoirs. It could then import cheap elec- tricity, for example, during the night when consumption is low, to pump water up to the reservoirs and then generate electricity and export it to continental Europe during the day when demand is high. Trillions of dollars, then, are planned to be invested in power generation, transmis- sion, and distribution globally over the next decades. However, a lot of the governance, ownership, infrastructure, technology, and standards are yet to be developed. By joining forces with KEMA, DNV aims to accelerate this inevitable development. Transition drivers We anticipate that stricter environmen- tal regulations and higher energy costs will drive a transition toward cleaner fos- sil fuels and more cost-effective power generation. is transition, including that towards integrating more renewable power into the energy grids, will require system- wide changes. Also, we believe that as governments and societies start to realize the reality of the threat and the actual costs of climate change, the demand for renewable energy will continue to grow, providing investment opportunities. e development of wind energy over the past decade has exceeded even the most aggressive predictions and in many areas continues to do so. But as we run out of good sites on land and take the natural next step of going oshore, the industry has had to start a completely new learning curve. We will soon begin to see costs come down as harbor infrastructure is developed, the number of purpose-built installation vessels increases, and large (5 MW-plus) turbines start to be mass produced. It is key to ensure that the momentum lies with a transformational framework system that is stable over the long term and attracts enough capital to scale up produc- tion and thereby reduce construction and operational costs. Once the bottlenecks are removed, the oshore wind industry will, in the authors view, be a cost-competitive energy source that will continue to deliver economic growth, exports, and jobs. MTJohan Sandberg is head of renewable energy at DNV KEMA in Norway. DNV has certi?ed more than 65% of the worlds oshore wind farms. There are several key areas in Europe where grid capacity has to be signi?cantly upgraded to reach the required transmission capacity. Further Reading To learn more about the oshore wind topics outlined in this article, check out the following resources. Statoils Hywind: http://www.guardian.co.uk/ environment/2012/feb/29/ windfarms-that-?oat-or-?y Carbon Trust Oshore Wind Accelerator program: http://www.dnv.com/resources/publications/ dnv_forum/2012/forum_se_sustainability/ creatinginnovationthatdelivers.asp WINDS OF CHANGE