FairWind, a global leader in wind-turbine installation and service solutions, recently appointed Andrew Tull as Regional Director APAC (Asia Pacific).
In his new role, Tull will be responsible for leading the growth and strategic direction of FairWind in the APAC region.
“I’m really pleased to be joining FairWind at such a pivotal time,” Tull said. “The business has a bold strategy, a strong reputation for delivering high-quality turbine services and significant opportunities for further expansion. Our ability to support both new installations and ongoing service and maintenance activities enables us to play a vital role in ensuring the safety, reliability, and performance of our customers’ operations.”
Andrew Tull has been appointed FairWind’s Regional Director APAC (Asia Pacific). (Courtesy: FairWind)
Tull brings more than 25 years’ experience in social and economic infrastructure, having held senior positions with global infrastructure consulting firm AECOM. He supported major infrastructure projects and business operations across sectors such as transport, buildings, water, energy, and the environment. He was most recently regional business line director, Buildings & Places Australia and New Zealand where he led engineering, architecture, cost management, urban design, and specialist advisory services for the business.
“Andrew brings a wealth of experience and a proven track-record in delivering large infrastructure projects, which will be invaluable for the next phase of our expansion,” said Stewart Mitchell, Fairwind CEO. “The installed turbine base is set to continue to increase in the region, and there is significant potential to increase both our service delivery and customer base. I look forward to working with Andrew as we continue to strengthen our support to customers.”
Following the acquisition of Cosmic Group in Australia, former managing director and co-founder Matt Crossan has been leading FairWind’s APAC business, he will now move into the new role of head of sales for the region with a focus on expanding the company’s strong project pipeline across Asia Pacific.
“The acquisition of Cosmic Group last year was a significant step for our growth in APAC,” Mitchell said. “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Matt for his leadership and guidance to the business so far.”
Integrated offshore infrastructure services company North Star has completed a 275 million pound debt financing, adding to debt commitments to support continued growth, broadening its lender group and improving its terms.
“This deal reflects the scale we’ve built and the path we are on,” said Fraser Dobbie, North Star chief financial officer. “As the business has grown, so too has our ability to attract new lenders and secure better pricing and terms, a dynamic that keeps reinforcing itself. Rabobank, LBBW, and KfW IPEX-Bank are exactly the caliber of new partner we want, alongside the banks and institutions that have backed us for years. For our clients, this package means further certainty on our ability to deliver the vessels we commit to during the tendering process, which matters more as competition for offshore wind contracts intensifies. Confidence in our balance sheet is now as much a part of our story as our reputation for high-performance SOVs and experienced crews.”
As the business prepares for its next phase of growth across the U.K. and Europe, the new investment demonstrates investor confidence in the world’s largest operator of service operation vessels (SOVs), following its recent acquisition of four SOVs from Edda Wind. The commitments secured cover existing shipbuilding commitments in full and provides additional capital for further acquisitions and new build activity.
North Star’s fleet of 14 SOVs, now backed by an expanded lending group following its 275 million pound refinancing. (Courtesy: North Star)
The package is structured across sterling and euro tranches, reflecting North Star’s revenue base in both currencies. North Star’s lending group now includes new participants Rabobank, KfW IPEX-Bank, and LBBW, with increased commitments also secured from existing lenders RBS, AIB, Scottish National Investment Bank, and RBC.
Since entering offshore wind in 2021, North Star has committed more than 750 million pounds in SOVs and secured significant contracts including wins with Dogger Bank, RWE, EnBW, and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. The four-ship acquisition completed in April 2026 takes its offshore wind fleet total to 14, a step closer to achieving its ambition of 40 SOVs by 2040.
Canada is already an energy superpower, with abundant oil and gas, hydropower, and nuclear making it the sixth largest energy producer in the world [1]. This status has been built on the vast resources of its oil sands, hydropower capacity, and home-grown nuclear, along with conventional oil and gas production both on and offshore.
Now a new offshore energy market is opening, with the country readying for its inaugural offshore wind lease sale in the waters off Nova Scotia. This milestone builds on four years of legislative and regulatory work that has laid the groundwork for lease sales that could open up as much as 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
Unlike many established offshore wind markets, Canada has the advantage of designing its regulatory framework before commercial-scale deployment begins. Rather than adapting rules written for another era, regulators have been able to incorporate lessons learned from more than two decades of offshore wind development in Europe while drawing on Canada’s own mature offshore oil and gas governance. The result is a regulatory regime intended to provide confidence for developers, investors, vessel operators, and insurers from the outset.
(Courtesy: Shutterstock)
A Canada first
Four wind-energy areas have been designated for auction in late 2026: French Bank, Middle Bank, and Sable Island Bank — all south of Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore, and Sydney Bight, northeast of Cape Breton. Five companies and two consortia have completed the prequalification process and agreed to be publicly named, representing developers from Canada, Europe, China, and South Korea.
With the Federal Major Projects Office identifying offshore wind as infrastructure of national significance, there’s clear federal support for Nova Scotia’s ambitious “Wind West” development, which aims to establish the province as an “energy superpower” exporting clean electricity to Atlantic Canada and beyond.
Coast to coast
Momentum is also building on the Pacific coast, where there are plans for a 1.5-2 GW project in the Hecate Strait off British Columbia. Here, with some of the strongest and most-consistent winds in the world [2], floating turbines are expected to be the main offshore wind infrastructure. The Hecate Strait project represents one of Canada’s largest Indigenous-led renewable energy opportunities through the partnership between Oceanic Wind Energy and Coast Tsimshian Enterprises, highlighting the importance of indigenous partnerships in Canada’s future offshore wind market.
Back on the East Coast, plans are also advancing to develop tidal power. Orbital Marine Power, having proven its tidal turbines in the harsh environment of the Scottish Atlantic, has been granted new tidal energy licenses offshore Nova Scotia, where there are plans to harness the power of the Bay of Fundy, one of the most powerful tidal resources in the world. This could be the beginnings of a major offshore renewable energy hub, and a new era for offshore Canada.
Regulation: Building on an offshore legacy
What makes these proposals so exciting is not just the vision of building an offshore wind market from scratch but the fact that vision is underpinned by a regulatory framework purpose-built to support development. The Canada Offshore Renewable Energy Regulations establish a comprehensive lifecycle framework covering site assessment, design and construction, operations and maintenance, and decommissioning. Drawing on its experience of licensing offshore oil and gas, the regulations formally introduce the Certifying Authority model for offshore wind.
For developers, this reduces technical uncertainty by providing independent verification that the project elements — from offshore structures and foundations to electrical systems and marine operations — satisfy regulatory requirements and meet the highest engineering standards. For investors and insurers, certification provides confidence that risk is being systematically managed throughout the project lifecycle, with key principles of engineering rigor, safety, reliability, and resilience built-in from the first line of the design to final decommissioning.
Canadian developments will have to contend with longer mobilization distances, fewer purpose-built installation assets in the domestic fleet, and operating windows influenced by Atlantic weather systems. (Courtesy: ABS/Shutterstock/Jacopo Landi)
Challenges: Fleet readiness
Establishing a brand-new energy market from the ground up is not without its challenges. Key among them is vessel availability, with global shortages of wind-turbine installation vessels, foundation-installation vessels, and cable-laying ships already constraining offshore wind development in more established markets.
And unlike many European projects, Canadian developments will also have to contend with longer mobilization distances, fewer purpose-built installation assets in the domestic fleet, and operating windows influenced by Atlantic weather systems. The ability to efficiently certify both Canadian and internationally sourced vessels for local operations could become an important factor in maintaining construction schedules.
A harsh environment
These will be the most northerly offshore wind turbines yet. However, offshore operators and their classification partners, such as ABS, have the experience and knowhow to help developers ensure safer and more reliable operations in many types of weather. The world-class hydrocarbon basins of the Grand Banks and Scotian Shelf have safely produced oil and gas for decades. The vast gravity base of the Hibernia production platform is a testament to the innovation that has enabled this northerly field to pump oil despite its location in “iceberg alley.” Having started production in 1997, Hibernia passed its billionth barrel milestone in 2016 and is set to keep producing beyond 2040.
That experience extends beyond offshore production. From icebreakers to research vessels, Canada’s maritime sector has developed decades of expertise in vessel winterization, structural design for cold climates, ice loading assessment, and safe marine operations in some of the world’s most demanding offshore environments. As offshore wind moves into increasingly northerly waters globally, many of these capabilities become directly transferable to renewable energy infrastructure.
ABS has been part of that evolution for decades through vessel classification, offshore certification, and marine safety services supporting Canada’s offshore energy industry. As a Recognized Organization under the Canada Shipping Act, with Delegated Statutory Inspection Program authority, ABS already works alongside industry and regulators on statutory compliance, offshore installation certification and standby vessel survey responsibilities throughout Atlantic Canada. That experience provides continuity as offshore energy expands beyond hydrocarbons into renewables, while the ABS Harsh Environment Technology Center at the University of Newfoundland supports R&D that will be essential as the first turbines arrive in these challenging waters.
Momentum is building on the Pacific coast, where there are plans for a 1.5-2 GW project in the Hecate Strait off British Columbia. (Courtesy: Shutterstock)
A floating future?
Much of Canada’s offshore wind resource lies in water depths beyond the practical limits of conventional fixed-bottom foundations, making floating offshore wind an important long-term technology pathway.
While Nova Scotia’s first leasing areas are expected to support fixed-bottom development, projects further offshore and on the Pacific coast are likely to accelerate demand for floating foundations, dynamic cables and specialized installation methodologies. That places additional emphasis on robust classification and certification throughout design and deployment.
Classification and certification become strategic facilitators
Canada’s offshore wind regulations recognize that independent assurance is not simply a compliance exercise but an important mechanism for reducing project risk. By embedding the Certifying Authority throughout the project lifecycle — from concept design and fabrication through installation, operation, and eventual decommissioning — the framework establishes technical confidence before turbines ever begin generating electricity.
For developers, this creates a clearer and familiar route through an unfamiliar regulatory environment. For lenders and insurers, independent verification reduces uncertainty around structural integrity, marine operations, and long-term asset performance. Vessel operators likewise benefit from established classification and statutory certification processes that support safe installation and maintenance activities. ABS is well positioned to support this transition. Having worked with Canada’s offshore industry for decades through vessel classification, offshore installation certification and statutory survey services, the organization brings experience spanning offshore oil and gas and shipping. That continuity of expertise allows lessons learned from operating safely in North Atlantic conditions to be transferred into Canada’s emerging offshore wind sector.
Ultimately, the success of Canada’s newest energy play won’t be the abundance of its wind resource — but the regulatory architecture that enables rather than blocks safe, timely, and efficient development.If it succeeds, Canada’s first offshore wind projects will not simply add another source of renewable electricity. They could establish a blueprint for safe, reliable offshore wind development in some of the world’s harshest operating environments.
Electricity Transformation Canada will be in Toronto, Ontario, October 19-21. In preparation for Canada’s largest renewable energy tradeshow, Wind Systems talked to CanREA President and CEO Vittoria Bellissimo on what attendees can expect.
ETC is going to be in Toronto again this year. What makes the city ideal for hosting this trade show?
I used to live in Toronto, and now I live in Calgary, so it’s hard to ask me to thump for Toronto, but I will. Toronto is a natural fit for ETC. This will be our second consecutive year in Toronto. We’re building on a record 2025 edition that drew almost 2,900 attendees, over 120 speakers, and 180 exhibitors at the Enercare Centre in Toronto. The province of Ontario is one of the provinces at the center of Canada’s procurement and construction activity.
We’ve seen some really exciting battery energy storage projects just built — Oneida, Hagersville, Napanee, Skyview 2. It’s a really interesting city to host.
And the connection, I think, with Toronto runs deeper than just ETC. CanREA hosted Clean Power Finance Canada Summit in May, and that brought investors, developers and policymakers together to make deals and strengthen partnerships, mobilizing both the financial community and the wind, solar, and energy storage industry. We’re building on that.
Toronto is also a huge city in scale and accessibility. There are direct flights all across the country and internationally, so it really does give ETC the room to grow. There are only so many cities we can host it in because it’s such a big trade show.
Ontario is home to 40 percent of Canada’s population, so hosting in Ontario always makes a lot of sense.
What issues will be discussed at ETC?
This year’s theme is Clean Power Nation, and we’re running it through five program streams: capital procurement and indigenous economic partnership, sourcing and building Canada’s clean power future, enabling the big build, earning the social license to build, and modernizing the infrastructure for Canada’s big build.
Within these five program themes, we’re going to tackle the issues shaping the sector right now. That will include everything from financing; AI and data center demand boom; building a domestic supply chain; Indigenous ownership and financing models; permitting reform; electricity market design in Ontario, Alberta, and Nova Scotia; trade and geopolitics; and more.
Rounding it out are sessions on the more than $200 billion in private capital that federal financing tools, including the ITCs, are expected to help mobilize over the next decade, and on what it takes to earn and keep the social license to build at this scale.
I’m very excited that it’ll be a kind of one-stop shop that will help everyone who’s building in this space learn what they are wanting to learn about what’s going on in the sector and then meet all the people they need to meet in the sector all in one place.
Speaking of that, why is it important for Canadian companies involved with renewable projects to be a part of ETC?
ETC is where business gets done. In Canada, in this space, it’s the sector’s one annual meeting place. And it’s the only time all year that developers, utilities, system operators, the financial community, Indigenous partners, and policymakers are all together in the same room.
And we’ve got a good story to tell. We’re tracking 24 GW of active procurements underway across the country. That represents more than $44 billion in investment. I know that sounds small to an American, but it’s large for a Canadian.
ETC is where companies connect directly with people making those decisions.
If you are part of the supply chain, if you’re part of the community, you really want to be in the room if you’re involved in not just wind, solar, and energy storage, but technologies in the clean electricity space and technologies in the electricity space — full stop.
If I were a first-time exhibitor, what should I expect from this year’s show?
You should expect Canada’s largest clean electricity event. We’re building off of last year’s show, so I would expect more than 3,000 people to attend, and we will definitely have more than 180 exhibitors because we’re tracking high right now. The exhibition floor sits alongside high-level programming, so exhibitors get both direct customer conversations and access to the policy and investment discussions that are shaping the sector.
The audience of ETC spans the full value chain. That includes solar energy, wind energy, energy storage, utilities, industrial energy systems, municipalities, Indigenous organizations, federal and provincial government representatives, electricity retailers, electricity exporters, real estate, construction, and other aspects of the renewable energy sector.
The show runs for three days, so you should expect to wear comfortable shoes. There will be two breakout rooms and a plenary session, plus a dedicated Indigenous pavilion and a podcast zone.
We’re going to have really exciting keynote speakers. We’re going to have fireside chats.
The group WiRE, Women in Renewable Energy, will be presenting awards. CanREA has our annual awards and reception. And there will be plenty of time to contact all the folks you want to talk to. We’ll have a lot of sessions on the show floor, so that will keep traffic moving. And I think you’ll get access to everyone you ever wanted to meet in this space.
What kind of networking opportunities will be available for attendees?
I would just start by saying that networking is built into the fabric of the conference. It’s not an afterthought. It’s the whole game plan. The No. 1 thing that everyone wants us to do is be the meeting place, so we’re going to be the meeting place.
There are keynote receptions and fireside chats. As I mentioned, there’s an awards assembly in the opening that includes WiRE awards and CanREA awards, and then there’s an opening reception. That’ll be the first large networking opportunity to see everyone.
On Day 2, there is a second networking reception, and there is also a hosted lunch and breaks specifically scheduled throughout the day to facilitate relationship building across the value chain with everyone from developers to the financial community to utilities.
And then beyond the main program, there’s an Indigenous pavilion and a podcast zone, and there’s an offsite reception at a place called Little Canada.
We’re looking forward to seeing all of that. It’s also kind of exciting because we’ve built a bit of a community here. There’s always offsite networking opportunities that our members offer up as well around what is offered by the main event. So, you can party hop all night long, and you can meet everyone you ever wanted to meet at ETC.
Any notable speakers in this year’s event?
Yes, there absolutely are. The lineup is headlined by clean energy entrepreneur and former U.S. Department of Energy Director Jigar Shah. He’ll be doing a fireside chat with RBC’s John Stackhouse on grids, geopolitics, and the race to build.
We’ve also got Nordex’s global CEO Jose Luis Blanco. We’ve got former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Perry Bellegarde and top executives from various Canadian banks and electricity system operators, along with leaders like Philippe Dunsky from Dunsky Energy and Climate and Ontario Energy Board CEO Carolyn Calwell.
There’s an opening plenary each day from the CEO’s chair, so we’ll have a good perspective from CEOs in this space as well as taking deep dives into Canada’s new national electricity strategy from several different angles.
And not to plug my own team too much here, but CanREA’s own policy directors are going to headline a closing panel we call Cross-Country Checkup to give everybody an overview of what’s happening coast-to-coast in wind, solar, and energy storage.
What are you personally looking forward to this year?
I hate picking favorites, but I’ll do it anyway. I’m pretty excited to see Jigar Shah and John Stackhouse. That’s a big one for me. I’m really excited. I’ve been trying for a couple of years to make this happen.
I am excited to hear Brady Gordon, who is up for a fireside chat called the Geopolitical Risk Checklist, which I think every CEO and project leader needs to attend.
Brady Gordon is a very impressive lawyer from Blakes who will give everyone a good rundown on what they should be talking about, and if they’re not talking about it, they’re making some mistakes.
JP Gladu was an excellent panelist last year, and I’m looking forward to see what he has to say.
I mentioned this previously, but the CanREA Awards were a big hit last year, and I’m really looking forward to learning about the kind of innovative projects in our industry.
I guess I would just say you can’t really miss with ETC. The whole wind, solar, and storage sector shows up. It’s the largest electricity conference in the country.
We’ve been working on it all year. Our team can’t wait to host everyone.
One of the more fascinating aspects of wind-energy production is how the sector is constantly searching for ways to co-exist with the nature that surrounds it. Yes, power creation is paramount, but studying and boosting the environment around it is a noble — and some would say — necessary goal.
To that end, understanding how floating offshore turbines interact with marine life becomes even more important. Through DemoSATH Lab, Saitec Offshore Technologies is using its operating floating wind demonstrator as a real-scale testing ground to study environmental interactions, improve monitoring methods, and explore solutions that support co-existence with marine biodiversity.
“The main goal is to test our technology at full size before we use it in commercial projects,” said Natalia Vélez, an environmental consultant at Saitec Offshore Technologies. “DemoSATH gives us the real data that we wanted from the sea and also from real operating experience. Computer models and tank tests are very important, but they cannot show us everything.
That’s why, with DemoSATH, we can improve the platform and the way we install and operate it. Also, we can reduce risks and costs, and this helps us to prepare our SATH technology for larger turbines in the future.”
Saitec Offshore Technologies designed and developed DemoSATH, a 2 MW floating wind turbine using SATH technology. (Courtesy: Saitec Offshore Technologies)
Developing DemoSATH
Saitec Offshore Technologies designed and developed DemoSATH, a 2 MW floating wind turbine using SATH technology and it’s the engineering lead for the project, according to Vélez. Saitec Offshore has led the design, construction, and installation of the platform.
“We also work in its operation, maintenance, and improvement,” she said. “We do all of this together with our partners, RWE Renewables and The Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. There are also other organizations that are working together with us in order to study this platform to have better results.”
The recent offshore operation marks a new step in DemoSATH Lab’s biodiversity program and forms part of the AQUASATH Project, with the installation of several complementary systems designed to study how floating wind foundations can host and support marine life while exploring their potential integration with aquaculture activities.
Environmental research has been a crucial component for Vélez and the team at Saitec from the beginning.
“We not only want to know if the platform works well; we also want to know if it interacts well with the sea,” she said. “Along these multiple surveys that we have done so far, we have seen many marine organisms already have settled in the platform and the structure, and they are using it and the area around it. That means the platform can offer — by itself — a suitable habitat, and that’s really interesting for us.”
Maintaining marine biodiversity
Early observations from DemoSATH Lab are helping the team understand what conditions may allow marine biodiversity and floating wind to coexist, according to Vélez.
“That’s why we want to test nature-inclusive designs, elements, and small aquaculture projects,” she said. “With this, we want to understand the full system: Which species can live there? How should we attach the systems? How do they adapt to local conditions? And how can we do the proper inspections and maintenance of the systems we are using? In that way, the DemoSATH Lab is helping us answer these questions before bigger floating projects begin.”
Saitec created special cages filled with mussels and other bivalve animals. (Courtesy: Saitec Offshore Technologies)
The DemoSATH turbine was installed over a sedimentary seabed with few natural sheltering areas. New structures in such environments tend to attract different species of marine life, according to Vélez.
“The floor is sedimentary; it’s only sand and a few rocks, and there’s not many sheltering areas for species,” she said. “Usually species, when they see something floating, it becomes very attractive to them because it’s like a small ecosystem.”
Nature-inclusive designs
Part of what makes the underwater structure so inviting to marine life is because DemoSATH has integrated nature-inclusive designs or NIDs on its infrastructure, according to Vélez.
“They are elements that can be integrated into an anthropogenic structure with the aim of enhancing the ecological functioning and creating additional opportunities for marine life,” she said. “These elements can create more surfaces, small spaces, or shelters for organisms. On the DemoSATH, we have already designed special NIDs for the columns below the water.”
In some of these areas, Saitec has created special cages filled with mussels and other bivalve animals, according to Vélez.
“The installation has already been done, and it is already showing us how to prepare, handle, and install for bigger projects,” she said.
The marine life species being transplanted are species from the area, according to Vélez, which will only aid in the further growth of the indigenous animals.
“We wanted to use living species from the area rather than from other locations,” she said. “One of the aspects we want to study is whether structures like this could eventually contribute to larval dispersal of local species.”
Biomimetic reefs
Part of the project also includes the creation of biomimetic reefs to aid in marine life adaptation, according to Vélez.
“A biomimetic reef is an artificial structure that is designed to reproduce some of the physical characteristics and ecological functions of natural reef habitats,” she said. “On the DemoSATH, we already installed life-boosting units or LBUs, designed and constructed by Ocean Ecostructures, a company from Barcelona. We installed some units in the braces below the water of the DemoSATH. Ocean Ecostructures used special material based on calcium carbonate and other minerals with three-dimensional shapes that create different spaces for marine life. It allows food and sheltering for young fishes.”
The DemoSATH turbine was installed over a sedimentary seabed with few natural sheltering areas. New structures in such environments tend to attract different species of marine life. (Courtesy: Saitec Offshore Technologies)
The ultimate goal is to learn if the floating turbine foundation can support marine life without affecting the safety and maintenance of the platform, according to Vélez.
“We don’t have final results yet, but we have seen that the offshore wind industry is showing more interest in biodiversity and nature-inclusive design specifically,” she said. “Companies want practical solutions and clear data, of course, and we are seeing that maybe the DemoSATH Lab is useful because we can test these ideas in a real operating platform and not only in a laboratory, for example. This is very important.”
Saitec and its foray into offshore wind
Saitec was founded in 1988 and has grown into one of Spain’s leading independent engineering firms with about 350 employees. The company works in different engineering areas such as transport, energy, water, architecture and urban planning, environment, and structures. This experience led to the company’s growth within the floating wind sector. In 2013, Saitec started developing its own floating wind technology called SATH, which in 2016 was presented through Saitec Offshore Technologies, a specialized spinoff of Saitec, according to Vélez.
In 2023, the DemoSATH project was installed at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) off the coast of Armintza, Spain, with collaborations with RWE Renewables and the Kansai Electric Power.
The DemoSATH Lab became operational in 2024.
“At first, we studied marine life around the structure doing bird monitoring, using underwater cameras and ROV inspections, and analyzing the underwater noise,” Vélez said. “Later, we expanded our studies to bat monitoring, AI-based monitoring tools, biodiversity studies with the environmental DNA, nature-inclusive designs, and aquaculture.”
The progression of the project was, for lack of a better word, organic, according to Vélez.
“We first developed SATH technology with DemoSATH, and when we had it at full scale, then we started using it with our project,” she said. “We turned it into a laboratory for the next generation of floating offshore wind.”
Commercial possibilities
Even though the research being conducted at DemoSATH Lab is still in the experimental stage, Vélez said she has hopes for the results to bring positive momentum to the offshore wind sector.
“In many cases, the solutions we are testing have never been implemented before under real offshore conditions,” she said. “That means that what we are doing is extremely valuable.”
As with other offshore wind potential, the technology is only a small part of the ultimate commercial goal. Support from local communities, fishers, public authorities, and more will need to be considered as well, according to Vélez.
“If we show that offshore wind can support biodiversity on one side, and then work together with other sea activities, then the result will be more trustworthy and stronger,” she said. “In this way, we can help offshore wind develop faster and in a more responsible way.”
Being a marine ecologist, Vélez has particular interest in the DemoSATH Lab project and its potential to advance offshore wind.
“I’m really, really passionate with these topics, but in here, I’ve been more involved in the whole picture — not only in the water, but also outside it,” she said. “I am working with the monitoring around the whole platform.
That means not just studying the underwater biodiversity such as the fish, invertebrates and algae community, but also the presence of bats and birds, for example. This has been a good opportunity to be involved in the whole industry of offshore wind platforms and to understand the main goals that we need to achieve in order to progress in this industry.”
Early observations from DemoSATH Lab are helping the team understand what conditions may allow marine biodiversity and floating wind to coexist. (Courtesy: Saitec Offshore Technologies)
Collaborative efforts
The DemoSATH operation was coordinated by Saitec Offshore Technologies, which managed the protocol, installation checklists, documentation control, and overall follow-up of the works.
The live material was supplied by Mar Ceibe, while Instituto Kardala provided the raft used for the temporary suspension of the elements and technical support during the first day of operations. Kotazero carried out the underwater works, including the collection of the elements from the raft and their final installation on DemoSATH.
Amarradores de Santander provided the main vessel and operational support during the second stage, including the mooring works required on the platform. Grupo Peñascal Kooperatiba contributed to the creation of the NID elements.
Additionally, some of this work was funded by the Department of Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability of the Basque Government, and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under the Hazitek program through the AQUASATH Project.
Through DemoSATH Lab, Saitec Offshore Technologies is exploring how floating offshore wind can move beyond energy generation and contribute to a better understanding of coexistence with the marine environment.
While federal support in the U.S. takes active steps against renewables within the current administration, Canada has made it clear that it is 100 percent committed to ensuring wind, solar, and battery storage are a vital part of its energy infrastructure.
Programs, policies, and incentives have become essential tools that have allowed Canada to be a leader in renewable energy production.
“I think that Canada is open for business in this space, and I think that we are a reliable, stable, and welcoming trading partner,” said Vittoria Bellissimo, president and CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA). “We run a conference that we call Clean Power Finance Canada. We ran it in May in Toronto of this year. One of the lessons we learned from that conference is that capital that’s been based in the U.S. and interested in the U.S. market is now very interested in the Canadian market.
That’s a really good news story. We have procurements that are running across Canada. We have a procurement calendar that’s tracking 24 GW of projects coast-to-coast. We have clean technology. We’ve got a whole suite of investment tax credits that look very stable, and we’ve got options for Indigenous equity financing and long-term procurement contracts. We’re hard at work to make ourselves as open for business as we can be.”
Renewables in Canada are meant to be a part of a complete energy package, but the advantage, as well as the affordability, are valid reasons to consider going green. (Courtesy: Migmawei Mawiomi Business Corporation)
Canada stats
The increasing numbers along the Canadian renewables landscape would seem to back up that declaration.
Canada closed 2025 with about 25 GW of installed wind, solar, and energy storage capacity, according to Bellissimo.
“That included about 19 GW of wind,” she said. “2025 was a bit of a quieter year for wind, but a very active year for storage, which was exciting for us. Energy storage was the standout story in Canada, growing more than 500 MW, which sounds small to an American but is large to a Canadian, and it was led by battery storage procurement in Ontario and battery storage facilities coming online in Ontario.”
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what Canada has accomplished, according to Bellissimo. Some of the projects in the works or in operation around Canada include:
Ontario secured 1,115 MW of new wind and solar through the first energy window of its LT2 procurement. That included 200 MW of wind. The average levelized cost of the 13 wind and solar projects was about $89/MWh.
In British Columbia, there was a 2025 call for power that resulted in four projects totaling 1,158 MW. Each of the projects included 51 percent Indigenous equity, which helps put Canada on a path to economic reconciliation. Going further back in British Columbia to 2024, a call to power included nine wind projects and one solar project. Overall, that’s more than 1.3 GW of wind. The average levelized cost was $74/MWh.
Much of the renewable energy incentive is due to Canada’s investment tax credits (ITCs), which have been an effective endeavor in advancing Canada’s energy needs. (Courtesy: SNGRDC)
There are several projects in the works in Quebec. The target in its provincial integrated resource plan is 10 GW by 2035. Currently, there are projects under construction with an energy target of 964 MW.
In Nova Scotia, there are 168 MW of wind under construction.
“It’s a coast-to-coast story,” Bellissimo said. “We’ve got lots of projects. We’ve got procurement windows opening up, and I’m bullish on wind energy in Canada.”
Investment tax credits
Much of the renewable energy incentive is due to Canada’s investment tax credits (ITCs), which have been an effective endeavor in advancing Canada’s energy needs, according to Bellissimo.
“With the Clean Electricity ITC now law, Canada finally has a complete, stable, multi-year federal incentive framework that runs to 2034, and it gives developers the long-term certainty they need to plan projects,” she said. “The credits are effective on paper and increasingly more so in practice as the federal government works to build out CRA processing capacity with faster, more predictable turnarounds. I think it will be really helpful in fully unlocking the impact of ITCs on the ground.”
As part of Canada’s overall energy-creating spectrum, Bellissimo emphasized that what makes renewables a smart energy choice — in addition to its green power
advantage — is that projects can be planned, built, and operating in a relatively short amount of time compared to other options, such as nuclear.
Wind, solar, and energy storage remain Canada’s fastest new electricity projects to build. (Courtesy: FNPower)
“Wind, solar, and energy storage remain Canada’s fastest new electricity projects to build,” she said. “Two to three years from contract to operation vs. a decade or more for some alternatives. That speed advantage is very real. There’s an impressive cost advantage, well below the cost of other technologies.”
Complete energy package
Bellissimo pointed out that renewables are meant to be a part of a complete energy package, but the advantage, as well as the affordability, are valid reasons to consider going green.
“CanREA’s position is that it isn’t a zero-sum choice between nuclear and renewables; Canada needs all new supply, and it needs all the new supply it can build as fast as it can build it — wind, solar, and storage remain the fastest technologies to deploy,” she said. “I firmly believe that affordability is king. When you ask customers what they want, affordable always comes first, and the numbers clearly make the case that wind, solar, and storage are the most affordable types of new electricity projects in the world today. If you look at Lazard’s latest Levelized Cost of Energy analysis, that puts nuclear — in U.S. dollars — at $175 to $255/MWh compared with onshore wind at $37 to $99/MWh or utility-scale solar at $40 to $98/MWh. Every decision maker in this sector needs to have those numbers in front of them when they look at what they’re building for the future.”
CanREA’s numbers also mirror those estimates, according to Bellissimo.
“CanREA’s own cost analysis has a similar conclusion for Canada with a build-out that maximizes wind, solar, and storage alongside other supply options,” she said. “A household electricity bill increases far more than a system without them, so we can build nuclear, but we’re going to want to build more wind, solar, and storage along with it.”
A surprising effect of the U.S.’s recent tariff war with Canada and the rest of the world has been that these belligerent policies have actually had a positive outcome when it comes to Canadian renewables, according to Bellissimo.
Canada has a procurement calendar that’s tracking 24 GW of projects coast-to-coast. (Courtesy: Migmawei Mawiomi Business Corporation)
“One of the things that has come out of the U.S. tariffs is the desire from Canada to be its own best customer,” she said. “What came out of that is a tariff that the Canadian government put on steel-derivative products, including wind-turbine towers. It’s a measure that was put in place publicly to try to encourage consumption of the one domestic wind-tower manufacturer products. We’re certainly trying to build robust, resilient supply chains, so we’re going to need a lot of different product markets. It’s a big country, so we’re going to need wind-turbine towers that are accessible all across the country, and we’re building out fast.”
CanREA’s four pillars
To its credit — and purpose — CanREA is working hard across the renewables spectrum with an outline of four pillars to aid in building projects faster, as well as adding more projects than ever before, according to Bellissimo. The first one is policy and regulatory.
“You probably hear about this a lot,” she said. “It’s everything from land use and permitting to environmental and wildlife approvals, municipal requirements, crown land policy, transmission policy, and interconnections to the electricity system. All of these need attention in order to enable project delivery. Developers need visibility on grid capacity, costs, and timelines before they bid in procurements, not afterwards. We’re making progress in some jurisdictions more than others across Canada, but there’s a lot of work to be done in this area.”
Public and community support make up the second pillar, according to Bellissimo.
“This includes project hosting or, as my colleagues like to say, it’s a volunteer sport,” she said. “We have a great story to tell in the Canadian renewable sector, and we need to keep telling it. Landowners and communities that have benefited from these projects certainly need to tell it as well. We are leaning into public engagement. We want to spend more time talking with people about the electricity they use and why wind, solar, and energy storage are essential systems that we’re building in Canada and beyond. That conversation matters. When people understand the system, they’re more likely to support the decisions that make it work.”
Pillar three is the supply chain, according to Bellissimo.
“Project delivery is absolutely dependent on access to reliable, robust, and resilient supply chains,” she said. “Our federal government has stated time and time again that we’re going to be our own best customer. There is interest in using Canadian products and services in our projects. Electricity systems are growing everywhere — you hear this probably all the time and not just in Canada. Canada needs to compete globally for components, so we need to be very, very strategic with our approach to supply chains going forward.”
Canada needs all new supply, and it needs all the new supply it can build as fast as it can build it — wind, solar, and storage remain the fastest technologies to deploy. (Courtesy: SNGRDC)
To that end, Bellissimo said the workforce is also a valid concern being addressed by CanREA.
“We have a workforce initiative, and the federal government has put some effort into building better workforces and building better training programs,” she said. “We don’t want to end up in an environment where we don’t have the human power to power the electricity systems we need.”
The fourth and final pillar, according to Bellissimo, involves financing, procurement, and Indigenous prosperity.
“We really do need to come up with reasonable procurement roadmaps and better risk sharing and equal access to capital,” she said. “There’s a lot of good news stories when it comes to Indigenous partners coming to the table in these projects, but I just don’t think we’re all the way there yet. We are certainly working well with all of the entities in this space, and we’re trying to ensure that there is access to equity early on in the project life cycle so that Indigenous groups can participate in these projects. It’s been a really nice story for economic reconciliation.”
Room for improvement
However, Bellissimo said there are still some kinks to be worked out when it comes to Canada’s renewables sector.
“It’s not perfect; nothing ever is,” she said. “There’s certainly some work that needs to be done on ensuring there’s access to equity earlier in the project life cycle so that IPP partners don’t have to step in and figure out a way to finance the beginning phases. But, it’s getting better, and you’re seeing new, exciting projects announced all the time.”
Across the Canadian landscape, good-news stories about the benefits of renewables are part of practically every province. There are exceptions, of course, but even those hopefully will be temporary, according to Bellissimo.
“You’ve probably heard about Alberta,” she said. “It’s my home province, and it’s certainly not a very good news story on the renewables front right now. I’m bullish on energy storage for Alberta in the short to medium term. I think there will be opportunities for hybrid projects — solar plus storage. And as people become more comfortable with the market, there’ll be more opportunities. But the right kind of decision-making from policymakers in the electricity space right now is to get as much electricity as possible and get it as low-cost as possible. From that perspective, wind, solar, and storage should be the first three technologies in your lineup.”
Tighter project schedules and evolving vessel demands are changing how cable handling equipment is designed and deployed. The cables being laid, particularly those linking offshore wind farms, are more complex, longer, and operate at deeper installation depths with more demanding schedules, which require more precise handling with much stricter cable handling requirements than a decade ago.
As offshore wind enters its most capital-intensive decade, it’s estimated that 117,640 kilometers of subsea cable will be needed globally between 2026 and 2040, along with 60,700 kilometers of new subsea interconnector cable over the same period [1].
Yet the vessels laying those cables aren’t keeping pace everywhere. While vessel supply remains broadly manageable across Europe, longer-term, bottlenecks are emerging in other key regions, particularly Asia-Pacific, which is experiencing rapid growth in the offshore wind sector [2].
Vessels take years to build and hundreds of millions to commission, so any shortfall is difficult to correct once demand accelerates. To ease this pressure, operators are increasingly turning to specialist integrated cable engineering companies who can deliver more agile, flexible, and modular solutions.
Instead of coordinating multiple suppliers, operators are increasingly seeking integrated, cable-handling specialists who can manage the entire project under a single engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning model (EPIC). (Courtesy: SCA)
Beyond moving cable from A to B
With projects becoming larger and more complex, cable handling is no longer just about transporting cables from A to B. It’s about how that cable is stored, deployed, and protected without adding risk offshore. Engineering, logistics, equipment, cable handling, and execution all need to work together to safeguard the cable and avoid costly downtime. Projects require more sophisticated, heavy-duty installation spreads, including larger carousels, loading towers, and track tensioners to maintain the structural integrity during transit and laying.
Instead of coordinating multiple suppliers, operators are increasingly seeking integrated, cable-handling specialists who can manage the entire project under a single engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning model (EPIC). Through an integrated approach, a single contractor takes responsibility for the entire cable handling lifecycle from onshore spooling through to offshore deployment.
Integration at the equipment level
Mission equipment such as carousels, loading towers, tensioners, quadrant deployment systems, winches, and chutes have historically been treated as a standalone kit, specified and delivered independently on a project. Bringing them together under one team streamlines the campaign.
By doing this, both interfaces, the mechanical and the software, are accounted for before a single piece of kit is on the water. This means any problems are caught at the design stage, not once equipment is on site, keeping the lay on schedule. In practice, the track height of the tensioner sets the downstream height of the entire cable path, from the roller tables through to the chute bed entry point, and the chute bed itself interfaces directly with the quadrant handler. The chute, the structure that guides the cable off the back of the vessel and safely down into the water, can then line up with all of it.
On the software side, as well as sitting under a single governing safety and emergency stop system, every piece of equipment moves in sync with the others. A control workshop with the client’s operational team walks through each cable-lay step in turn, testing it for safety, efficiency, and simplicity. This ensures the crew can pick up the system quickly, and cable integrity isn’t put at risk.
As the offshore wind and subsea cable markets continue to grow, the pressure on cable laying vessel capacity will only build. (Courtesy: SCA)
With both interfaces addressed, the benefits show up across the whole campaign. There are fewer handovers between equipment, less risk of a mismatch between what the carousel feeds and what the tensioner can hold, and the system is built around cable spec from the start, rather than pieced together ad hoc. Execution becomes simpler, and projects are delivered safely, on time, and within budget.
There are benefits at the fleet level, too. Deck equipment fitted to a cable-laying vessel, including carousels, tensioners, and chutes, has traditionally been specified around one task such as laying the cable and installing it onto the seabed. Other jobs such as loading the cable onto the vessel in the first place, infield installations, export, or later repairing a section of cable, have often sat as separate scopes, sometimes needing a different, specially equipped vessel brought in months or years later.
As these scopes move into overlapping project executions, a vessel with versatile deck equipment can handle more of that itself, acting as a Swiss army knife, rather than being demobilized in order for a second, differently equipped vessel can take over.
This means one vessel can support more of the lifecycle rather than a relay of specialist vessels each doing one job, which is a faster way to ease the cable laying vessel (CLV) shortage than waiting on newbuilds.
Inside the Altera deck spread
Subsea Cable Assets (SCA), a Netherlands-headquartered specialist in cable handling equipment, designs carousel- and cable-handling systems that are completely modular and can be shipped in standard 40-feet containers. Mobilization can take place on the project site or on board the vessel itself, with below-deck carousels installed through the cargo hatch, minimizing vessel engagement.
This offers flexibility and cuts the cost and time typically lost to mobilization, allowing a vessel to move between project phases without returning to port to reconfigure equipment.
This full-lifecycle approach extends how projects are contracted, not just how equipment is built. Turnkey contractors increasingly manage the whole project lifecycle rather than a single campaign. SCA took on exactly this kind of scope when it was appointed to manage the complete cable installation deck spread for the Altera, a new-built next-generation DP2 cable installation vessel contracted through N-Sea Group.
With more than 15 years’ offshore subsea experience and more than 50 cable carousel systems delivered globally, SCA brought proven capability to an unusually complex scope. N-Sea needed a complete cable installation deck spread, engineered from scratch, to match Altera’s precise dimensions, layout, and operational requirements, all against a live shipyard construction schedule.
With no room for delay, SCA acted as an integrating contractor, coordinating specialist partners simultaneously and running all workstreams in parallel rather than in sequence.
This meant managing nine distinct, interdependent components, including the carousel, tensioning equipment, quadrant handling system, and chute system, each custom-manufactured by specialist suppliers and delivered from SCA’s Dubai base in line with the vessel’s own build program. Without the deck spread, the Altera would not have been able to perform its intended cable installation scope.
Rather than being handed over once complete, the mechanical and control aspects were reviewed and refined continuously with N-Sea’s operational team, ensuring a joint development rather than a standard delivery. The control system went through multiple workshops with the operators and end users who would actually run it, with the focus on ease of operation, consistency and reliability, particularly important given regular crew changeovers.
With projects becoming larger and more complex, cable handling is no longer just about transporting cables from A to B. (Courtesy: SCA)
Built to be tested, not just installed
All equipment within SCA’s scope was manufactured in line with Altera’s construction timeline without disruption, supported by the company’s manufacturing capacity and supply chain network. Because one contractor held the entire scope, the deck spread was ready for installation and commissioning to meet the shipyard schedule, rather than waiting on components from separate suppliers.
This approach isn’t unique to this project. SCA has taken the same full lifecycle approach on other international energy projects. Rather than equipment being assembled piecemeal, the integrated design ensures both ends of the cable are accessible for testing, even on a tight deck. This isn’t a minor design detail. A fault caught on the deck is a delay. The same fault offshore is a much costlier one and ties up a CLV that is already in short supply.
Closing the gap without new CLVs
As the offshore wind and subsea cable markets continue to grow, the pressure on cable laying vessel capacity will only build. Vessels take years to design and commission, so newbuilds alone can’t close this gap.
More capability in the vessels already in service, through equipment that does more per lift and needs fewer separate mobilizations, addresses the CLV capacity shortage.
This is the case for treating cable handling as an integrated system from the outset of a project, rather than a collection of parts assembled once the vessel’s already been chartered.
As projects become more complex and vessel availability remains constrained, operators are increasingly recognizing the value of a more integrated approach to cable handling.
References
TGS 4 C’s Q1 Supply & Demand Offshore Wind Vessels and Transmissions & Cables Outlook report
Business Research Insights: Wind Turbine Installation Vessel Market Size Trends.
Nadara has appointed Aker Solutions to undertake electrical infrastructure studies for the Bellrock Offshore Wind Farm, through its consultancy arm Entr and wholly owned subsidiary Unitech Power Systems.
The work will support the development of a high-level electrical infrastructure concept for Bellrock, helping to define an optimized solution across the project’s full electrical transmission system, from offshore generation through to onshore grid connection.
Bellrock is a proposed 1.8-GW floating offshore wind project about 120 kilometers off the Aberdeenshire coast. The project has the potential to make a significant contribution to Scotland and the U.K.’s renewable power ambitions, while supporting the growth of the floating offshore wind supply chain.
Nadara has appointed Aker Solutions to undertake electrical infrastructure studies for the Bellrock Offshore Wind Farm. (Courtesy: Aker Solutions)
The scope being delivered by Aker Solutions will assess multiple transmission configurations, alongside key elements of the project’s electrical system including inter-array cabling, offshore and onshore substations, export cables and grid integration.
The study will provide cost, schedule, and supply chain insights to support procurement planning, refine Bellrock’s electrical infrastructure concept, and reduce risk as the project moves through future design, consenting, and investment milestones.
Entr will bring project execution experience and real-world data to the study, while Unitech Power Systems will contribute specialist electrical power engineering capability. Together, the companies will help inform key investment decisions and establish a robust foundation for future design, procurement and delivery.
“This study is about making the right technical decisions early,” said David Robertson, Portfolio Director at Nadara. “By working with Aker Solutions, Entr, and Unitech Power Systems, we are bringing together strong offshore project experience and specialist electrical engineering capability at a critical stage in Bellrock’s development. The work will help us assess the most robust and efficient transmission options, understand key cost and program considerations, and build a stronger evidence base for future investment and procurement decisions.”
“Early definition of the transmission system is essential to managing cost, schedule, and technical risk on projects of this scale,” said Dorthe Kirkeby, Vice President of Ocean and Wind at Entr, Aker Solutions. “Through Entr and Unitech Power Systems, we will combine project execution insight with deep electrical power engineering expertise to help identify a practical, optimized, and future-ready concept for Bellrock. Floating offshore wind has a major role to play in the energy transition, and robust early-stage design will be key to enabling projects to move forward with confidence.”
Bellrock’s Wind Farm Development Area consent application was submitted in April 2026 and is now progressing through the determination process. Further work is continuing across the project’s offshore and onshore transmission infrastructure, including engineering design, surveys, site selection and stakeholder engagement.
Subject to the necessary consents and approvals, the project will move through further transmission consenting, procurement preparation and investment decision stages, with the electrical concept study helping to refine the project’s future transmission design.
Sky Climber Renewables, a provider of wind-energy services and workforce solutions, recently announced the Tech One Program, its wind technician training and placement initiative developed in partnership with Vestas, recently surpassed 1,000 placements and transfers.
The milestone was reached in July 2026 and represents a significant achievement in structured workforce development for the wind-energy industry. It also reflects sustained demand for field-ready wind technicians across North America.
Since its launch in late 2019, the Tech One Program has processed more than 53,580 applicants, delivered an estimated 220,200 hours of hands-on technical training across 224 program cohorts, and placed graduates across 30 U.S. states. Among program graduates, 217 are U.S. military veterans who have transitioned into long-term wind-energy careers through the TOP pathway.
The Tech One Program was founded as a joint initiative between Sky Climber Renewables and Vestas to address a growing challenge facing the wind-energy industry: Workforce development was not keeping pace with capacity growth.
Designed from the ground up to streamline the recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training, and deployment of wind technicians, the program was built on a grassroots hiring model that prioritized local talent development and field-ready outcomes.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, wind-turbine service technician is among the fastest-growing occupations in the country, with employment projected to grow 60 percent through 2033. Programs such as TOP provide the structured, industry-aligned workforce infrastructure needed to help meet that demand at scale.
The Tech One Program operates as an end-to-end workforce pipeline, moving candidates from initial application through training, certification, and field deployment using a structured and repeatable model.
The program’s OEM-aligned training standards, developed in coordination with Vestas, help ensure graduates enter the field with the technical foundation required to perform safely and effectively from day one.
Sky Climber Renewables and Vestas will continue to grow the Tech One Program pipeline in the years ahead.
SCR will also begin publishing individual graduate stories, highlighting career trajectories and providing a firsthand look at what the TOP pathway has meant to the professionals who have completed the program. The program continues to recruit and train new technician cohorts in support of Vestas field operations across North America.
Palfinger is providing PF 160-5m davit cranes for the East Anglia Two offshore wind project. Located in the southern North Sea off the Suffolk coast, East Anglia Two is part of ScottishPower Renewables’ large-scale offshore wind development in the U.K. With a planned capacity of up to 960 MW, the wind farm will provide almost 1 million homes with clean energy.
The order includes one crane for each of the wind farm’s 64 turbines to be delivered by the end of 2026. The PF 160-5m davit cranes will support material handling, maintenance, and service tasks on the turbine platforms. Designed for demanding marine environments, Palfinger’s PF crane range combines robust performance with low maintenance requirements and helps ensure safe, efficient lifting operations at sea.
Palfinger secured another contract with Smulders to deliver 64 PF 160-5m davit cranes for the East Anglia Two offshore wind farm. (Courtesy: Palfinger)
“Wind energy is one of the defining growth markets of our time, and demand for reliable offshore solutions is rising fast across the globe,” said Iavor Markov, Global Key Account & Segment Manager Offshore Wind at Palfinger. “We at Palfinger anticipated this shift early and made offshore wind a central part of our marine business. With our reliable and high-performance lifting solutions, we support customers in operating offshore wind farms safely and efficiently over their entire lifecycle. East Anglia Two is a major renewable energy project, and we are proud to contribute our expertise once again.”
The East Anglia Two order highlights Palfinger’s strong position in offshore wind. Europe and Taiwan are Palfinger’s largest offshore wind markets, with the U.K. being the company’s most important buyer country in the European region.
As Palfinger already equipped East Anglia Three with 96 PF 160 cranes – where the first turbine has recently been installed and offshore works are progressing – the order for East Anglia Two further expands the company’s footprint in the U.K. Combined, East Anglia Two and Three will provide power to about 2.25 million homes. Given the dimension of the East Anglia project, this follow-up commission underscores the importance of long-term collaboration, reliable technology, and strong execution in large-scale renewable energy infrastructure.
Palfinger has been active in the offshore wind segment for 23 years. Its lifting and handling solutions are in use in 19 countries on five continents and support the production of more than 53 GW of renewable energy.
With this latest order, Palfinger has reached a major milestone: 7,000 lifting and handling solutions sold for offshore and onshore wind. About 6,600 units have already been delivered. The milestone reflects Palfinger’s long-standing commitment to renewable energy and its role as a trusted partner for safe, efficient and sustainable offshore operations.
Vestas has named Anna Mascolo as President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe and Global Offshore.
Mascolo joins Vestas from Shell, where she most recently served as executive vice president of Low Carbon Solutions, leading Shell’s global business focused on delivering decarbonization solutions for customers.
She brings more than 25 years of international leadership experience in energy, spanning research, trading, aviation, chemicals, M&A, and low-carbon technologies. “I am delighted to welcome Anna to Vestas,” said Henrik Andersen, Vestas President and CEO. “Anna brings a unique combination of commercial acumen, international leadership experience, and deep expertise within the energy sector.
As Europe continues to invest in secure, affordable and sustainable energy, Anna’s proven ability to deliver growth, lead large organizations, and build strong customer relationships will be invaluable for Vestas and our customers.
Anna Mascolo is Vestas’ new president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe and Global Offshore. Mascolo (right) succeeds Nils de Baar (left). (Courtesy: LinkedIn / Vestas Wind Systems)
At the same time, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Nils de Baar for his extraordinary contribution to Vestas. For more than a decade, Nils has been instrumental in shaping Vestas’ success in Europe.” Mascolo succeeds de Baar, who after more than 10 years as regional president has decided to retire from operational roles, following a tenure marked by strong growth, market expansion, and deep customer partnerships.
De Baar will leave Vestas by end of September following a thorough handover with partners and colleagues at Vestas.
“It has been a privilege to lead Northern & Central Europe and work alongside great colleagues, customers, and partners,” de Baar said. “Together, we have built a strong business and contributed significantly to the deployment of renewable energy across the region. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and confident that the region is well-positioned for continued success. Anna is an outstanding leader with extensive experience across the energy value chain, and I am certain she will take the business to even greater heights.”
As President of Northern & Central Europe and Global Offshore, Mascolo will be responsible for leading Vestas’ sales, construction, service, and development activities of onshore wind across the region as well as Global Offshore, supporting customers in their efforts to deliver affordable, secure, and sustainable energy.
“I am excited to join the company at such an important time for the industry,” Mascolo said. “Northern & Central Europe is a region with tremendous opportunities as countries continue to pursue ambitious climate and energy goals.
I look forward to joining my peers in Henrik’s team with the other Regional Presidents and working with Vestas’ talented team, our customers, and our partners to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy solutions and create long-term value for all stakeholders.”
Prior to her current role, she held several senior leadership positions at Shell, including president of Global Aviation, vice chair of the Raizen Board and serves on the board of Rolls-Royce SMR.
The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) recently appointed Natalie Carroll as Head of Competence and Training, where she will lead the association’s initiatives to strengthen workforce capability, improve skills transferability, and support the delivery of IMCA’s People and Skills Plan.
The International Marine Contractors Association has appointed Natalie Carroll as Head of Competence and Training. (Courtesy: IMCA)
Carroll brings more than 20 years of experience in competence, training, and learning development across offshore energy, subsea, defense, and financial services. Most recently, she held the role of Global Competence and Training Manager at Boskalis Subsea Services, where she developed and led competence and training programs during a period of significant business growth.
“I am delighted to be joining IMCA at such an important time for the industry. Having worked in competence and training for more than two decades, I have seen first-hand the crucial role that competence assurance plays in supporting safe and effective operations,” Carroll said. “I look forward to working with members and industry stakeholders to strengthen competence across the sector and help create more accessible and transferable career pathways for the future workforce.”
Carroll will lead IMCA’s program to build transferable skills and capability across the offshore sector, working with stakeholders to develop and standardize core technical competencies, build a global competence and skills framework, and create clearer career pathways across the marine contracting industry.
The initiative will harness new digital tools and systems to make skills more transferable between roles, disciplines, and industry sectors, helping the industry attract, develop, and retain talent for the future. Carroll is also well known to many IMCA members through her long-standing involvement in the association, most recently serving as Chair of IMCA’s Competence and Training Committee.
The Committee has elected Jamie Johnston, Survey Lead at Sulmara, as Carroll’s replacement, following a call for nominations from Committee members.
Türkiye is stepping into its first major offshore wind chapter with the launch of its inaugural offshore YEKA tender, an event that could reshape its power-generation mix, unlock vast investments, and accelerate its clean-energy trajectory. Offshore wind could be a key cornerstone for the country’s renewable energy development if it is developed with sound policy, robust incentives, and strong execution, according to Globaldata, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
GlobalData’s latest report, “Turkiye Power Market Trends and Analysis by Capacity Generation Transmission, Distribution, Regulations, Key Players, and Forecast to 2035,” reveals Türkiye’s broader renewable energy strategy targets 120 GW of combined solar and wind capacity by 2035 and explicitly includes offshore wind. However, offshore wind capacity is expected to enter the capacity mix only in 2032, and 1.3 GW of offshore wind capacity is likely to be operational by 2035, producing roughly 2.7 TW/h well below the aim of 5 GW.
Türkiye is stepping into its first major offshore wind chapter with the launch of its inaugural offshore YEKA tender, an event that could reshape its power-generation mix. (Courtesy: GlobalData)
The Turkish government has identified four candidate offshore wind zones — Saros Bay, Gökçeada, Bozcaada, and Edremit — and aims to reach 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035. A draft specification has been released for a 1-GW offshore wind YEKA tender that includes long-term licensing, construction deadlines following approvals, and a price range of $0.07 to $0.11 per kW/h.
“Türkiye’s launch of its first offshore wind YEKA tender is a watershed moment. It signals a shift beyond onshore renewables,” said Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, Power Analyst at GlobalData. “If planned well, with clear rules and timely permitting, it could mobilize investment, deliver clean, firm power, and help the country reduce its dependence on thermal generation.”
The gap between the government’s 5-GW ambition and the likely 1.3-GW outcome arises from multiple obstacles. First, permitting and regulatory processes are complex and time-consuming: environmental reviews, seabed licensing, and marine regulations all require many steps and coordination among agencies. Second, key infrastructure, including grid connections, subsea cables, landing stations, and reinforcement of the onshore network, needs early planning and substantial investment, or projects may face bottlenecks. Third, financial challenges such as inflation, fluctuations in currency, and supply chain disruptions increase the cost and risk of projects. Fourth, technical and environmental issues such as variable seabed quality, harsh marine conditions, ecological sensitivities, and stakeholder concerns can slow progress or limit development.
Dover Precision Components, an integrated provider of performance-critical solutions for rotating and reciprocating machinery, recently announced its intent to offer advanced product and material testing capabilities to OEMs and end users. These services are designed to support product development engineers in validating designs, optimizing performance, and accelerating time to market.
The 12,000-square-foot flagship Innovation Lab opened in Houston, Texas, in 2022 and was built to centralize the company’s test rigs, bringing together the research and product development teams. As part of a network of facilities, the lab enables comprehensive analysis of products across their full development lifecycle, from early-stage concept validation through final performance verification under real-world operating conditions.
Dover Precision Components will offer advanced product and material testing capabilities to OEMs and end users. (Courtesy: Dover Precision Components)
“When your reputation is built on precision, reliability, and performance, testing is not just an option, it’s a competitive advantage,” said Burak Bekisli, director of Innovation. “Our lab services are designed to act as a true extension of our customers’ engineering teams, providing the advanced testing, analysis, and collaboration required to bring high-performance and mission-critical solutions to market with confidence.”
The Dover Precision Components labs offer a full suite of services tailored to the needs of design and product development engineers working across turbines, compressors, and rotating equipment systems, including prototype validation and design optimization, enabling engineers to refine components before full-scale production; failure mode and root cause analysis, delivering data-driven insights to solve complex performance challenges; accelerated lifecycle testing, validating durability and long-term reliability under demanding conditions; regulatory and compliance testing, ensuring products meet industry standards; custom test rigs, developed to replicate proprietary assemblies and real-world operating environments, thermal, mechanical, chemical, optical and tribological characterization and comparative tests for advanced material systems.
In addition, Dover Precision Components’ capabilities extend to emerging applications such as the hydrogen economy, where advanced tribology testing helps engineers address wear challenges in high-pressure hydrogen environments.
For the first time, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES is operating two different profiling Lidar types simultaneously on a Fraunhofer IWES Wind Lidar Buoy. The campaign aims to validate the suitability of both systems for offshore buoy deployment while exploring new measurement concepts to increase data availability and enable complementary measurement strategies.
As the first deployment of these next-gen Lidar units on a floating Lidar buoy, it also provides data to evaluate their performance under offshore conditions. It is being carried out as part of the “Wind-Lidar-Boje NG“ research project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).
Fraunhofer IWES Wind Lidar Buoy with dual-Lidar system just after deployment at FINO3 test site. (Courtesy: Fraunhofer)
Since April 2026, a Lumibird’s BEAM6x WindPower and Vaisala’s WindCube 2.1 XP have been operating on a Fraunhofer IWES Wind Lidar Buoy in the North Sea. Both systems have been collecting measurements simultaneously since deployment. Fraunhofer IWES is validating the measurement data against the IEC Metmast and calibrated Lidars on the FINO3 platform while assessing the performance of both Lidar systems under identical offshore conditions. The campaign also evaluates a versatile dual-Lidar integration into the buoy’s energy system and the Lidars’ operational behavior in a dynamic environment.
Beyond the validation of new Lidar technologies, the Fraunhofer IWES project team is investigating the potential of a dual-Lidar configuration for offshore wind measurements.
“The dual-Lidar concept provides several advantages for offshore wind measurements,” said Stephan Stone, Group Leader Wind Measurement System Technology at Fraunhofer IWES. “This gives us greater flexibility in addressing different measurement requirements and customer needs. Depending on the application, two Lidar systems can be used either to increase data availability through redundancy or to collect complementary datasets using different measurement configurations.”
The two Lidar systems are housed in separate protective enclosures mounted on a shared support structure specifically developed for deployment on Fraunhofer IWES Wind Lidar Buoys. This modular design protects the instruments from wave-induced motion and corrosive marine conditions, before dedicated offshore adaptations by the manufacturers.
“Lumibird is delighted to contribute to this pioneering project, which aims to provide offshore wind farm developers with premium-quality wind data, combining high data availability with low measurement uncertainty, and including accurate turbulence intensity assessments,” said Alexandre Biasi, Business Development Manager at Lumibird.
“Fraunhofer IWES has long been a leader in floating lidar, and we are delighted that the WindCube® 2.1 XP is part of their newest design,” said Andrew Black, Senior Scientist, Vaisala. “There is a great, shared spirit of innovation at Fraunhofer IWES and at Vaisala. I expect a wave of new inventions based on the data from this buoy.”
Aviva’s Global Risk Management Solutions and ONYX Insight, the leading provider of predictive analytics for the global wind industry, recenlty announced a collaboration to give wind asset owners and operators the tools to help reduce operational and insurance risk across the sector and optimize asset lifecycles.
To enable Aviva customers to take a proactive approach to turbine maintenance, Aviva and Onyx Insight have launched a pilot partnership that incentivizes the adoption of Onyx Insight’s engineering-grade, AI-driven predictive analytics.
Together with Aviva’s expertise in risk management, this partnership aims to help asset owners mitigate downtime, manage O&M risk, and protect long-term asset value, while aligning operational performance with insurance requirements.
Enhancing and maintaining turbine performance is one of the dominant operational costs owners and operators face throughout an asset’s life expectancy.
For those without access to accurate performance data and whole turbine condition monitoring across their fleet, these expenditures are exacerbated by reactive risk management strategies and increased exposure to events requiring unplanned and costly maintenance.
“We are delighted to partner with Aviva on this project and are excited to work with its policyholders to help reduce risk across the whole turbine and project lifecycle, from early operation through to later-stage optimization and life extension,” said Alexis Grenon, Onyx Insight CEO.
“Our advanced failure detection can identify issues up to two years in advance of a potential loss event, giving wind-asset owners and operators comfort, and allowing them to take a truly front-footed approach to managing risk.”
“There is increasing pressure on insurers and wind asset owners to enhance resilience strategies as the industry grapples with aging fleets and an uptick in serial defects,” said Chris Andrews, Aviva Global Risk Management Solutions. “We support clients by helping them to identify, evaluate, and quantify risk to build sustainable industry growth.
Wider uptake of data and analytics can provide more insight into turbine condition, strengthen underwriting, and deliver better risk management practices, helping to prevent unplanned downtime and unexpected costs.”
As the energy transition accelerates, the importance of managing aging turbines to maximize their operational lifespan in established markets, while making sure new turbine models achieve commercial maturity, continues to grow.
Breakthroughs in turbine monitoring technologies and actionable AI insights mean that the sector has the tools to confront its risk exposure more effectively.
Onyx Insight applies machine-learning models to one of the wind industry’s largest failure datasets, drawing on more than 15 years of historic data to provide early visibility of emerging turbine issues.
Kongsberg recently signed a new contract for the delivery of its market-leading technologies to protect critical infrastructure, highlighting the growing demand for solutions that safeguard high-value assets and resources.
“Preventing and detecting threats and attacks are essential to protect people and critical infrastructure,” said Eirik Lie, president and CEO of Kongsberg. “Kongsberg has the solutions and technology to support countries and industries in their efforts to build resilient systems and maintain operations. This is fundamental in today’s rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.”
Kongsberg provides technology and solutions that help countries and industries build resilient systems and keep operations running. (Courtesy: Kongsberg)
Critical infrastructure includes essential systems such as oil and gas installations, telecommunication cables, energy grids, ports, and transportation networks, which must be protected against a wide range of threats, from cyber-attacks to natural disasters and physical sabotage. The contract value for the project is undisclosed. The project is for an unnamed international customer and will focus primarily on underwater surveillance and protection. “We are pleased to support this major project with robust protection systems that provide access to data and analysis for time-critical decisions,” said Camilla Kiss, president of Discovery, a division of Kongsberg.
“Our technology enables full-scale delivery across air and underwater domains, including situational awareness, response, inspection, surveillance, and monitoring. The contract underpins how the market for infrastructure protection is evolving from recognizing the need, to signing a firm order to implement the right solutions. It is also a proof of how Kongsberg has the technologies and people to serve this growing market.”
After more than 20 years of dedicated service, Shuttlelift recently announced the retirement of Dan Reinholtz, sales manager, whose passion for innovation, commitment to customers and leadership within the rubber-tired gantry crane industry has helped shape the company’s success for decades. Throughout his career, Reinholtz earned the trust of customers, distributors, and colleagues alike, leaving a lasting impact on both Shuttlelift and the industries it serves.
Dan Reinholtz has retired after a 20-plus year career as Shuttlelift sales manager. (Courtesy: Shuttlelift)
Since joining Shuttlelift in 2004, Reinholtz has approached every opportunity with a desire to improve both the company and its products. Passionate about the rubber-tired gantry business, he continually looked for ways to refine machine designs, improve efficiency in the field, and lead cost-reduction initiatives that kept Shuttlelift competitive without sacrificing quality. His commitment to continuous improvement extended beyond product development, as he also served on multiple safety committees and regularly shared his expertise through safe lifting presentations at trade shows and industry events.
Throughout his career, Reinholtz became known not only for his technical knowledge but for the integrity with which he served customers. Rather than simply selling the largest machine possible, he carefully evaluated each customer’s lifting requirements and recommended the solution that truly fits their needs, even when that meant suggesting a smaller crane or eliminating the need for a second machine altogether. That honesty built lasting relationships and established Reinholtz as one of the industry’s most trusted resources, particularly within the precast concrete market, where customers frequently sought his advice on topics that extended well beyond a crane purchase.
Reinholtz’s influence has reached far beyond individual sales. He played a significant role in establishing Shuttlelift as the premier manufacturer of rubber-tired gantry cranes worldwide. His dedication to delivering high-quality lifting solutions, combined with his customer-first approach, helped strengthen Shuttlelift’s reputation as a trusted partner across industries including precast concrete, steel, modular construction, mining, power generation, and many more. Outside of his professional accomplishments, Reinholtz regularly supported charitable initiatives throughout the precast concrete community, often contributing personally to fundraising events and auctions simply because he believed in the causes they supported. Those who worked alongside Reinholtz also knew him for his unique personality and unconventional approach to solving problems.
