Thousands are expected to attend a sold-out floating wind event in Aberdeen this week, but limited capacity has left some in the doldrums.
More than 1,500 delegates are expected to attend Floating Offshore Wind 2022, which runs 12-13 October at Aberdeen’s P&J Live.
Hosted by Scottish Renewables and Renewable UK the event promises to be “the meeting place” for the burgeoning floating wind sector to share best practise and showcase the innovations that can help drive down the cost of the technology.
However, late last week organisers announced conference places had already sold out, with potential delegates consigned to a large and growing waiting list.
Renewable UK confirmed to Energy Voice that as of Monday morning there is now a “substantial” waiting list of some 200 people.
Avoiding disappointment
Having failed to book early, some expressed their disappointment at being unable to secure a place.
One industry executive, who did not wish to be named, said he had looked to book tickets for himself and his business development team last week, only to find the event completely sold out.
He was told by organisers there was already a 100-plus wait list for tickets, and that there was “little to no chance” of securing a place.
The sell-out hints at the appetite amongst developers and the local supply chain as the industry looks to embark on a serious build-out of floating wind capacity in the coming decades.
The trade body’s senior events manager Vicky Comber today said: “This will be our biggest floating wind event ever, with an extraordinary range of expert speakers and a record number of delegates, reflecting the massive amount of interest there is in this innovative technology worldwide.
“The UK is a global leader in floating wind, which offers us opportunities not only to ramp up deployment here and build a whole new industry, but also to export our expertise and our cutting-edge technology to other countries in the years ahead.”
© EquinorWhat’s in store?
The event will take a broad look at the local and global opportunities for the sector, including sessions on engineering challenges, cables, skills and related technologies such as green hydrogen.
Scotland is already home to the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, HyWind, opened by Equinor in 2017.
Yet expectations for the sector continue to grow, not least in the wake of Boris Johnson’s British Energy Security Strategy, which pledged to increase the UK’s offshore wind targets from 40 gigawatts (GW) to 50GW by 2030, of which at least 5GW is set to be floating wind.
Scotland’s own Scotwind round will also take centre stage at the conference, with a dedicated plenary session exploring the projects supply chain commitments and investments being made by developers, and the associated opportunities that come with the 25GW of new wind capacity expected to be delivered.
The event will feature panellists and speakers from the likes of Shell, Orsted, Vestas, SSE, Equinor, Crown Estate, ScottishPower – and many more – over its two-day run.
Passes for non-members of the trade body cost up to £595, not including VAT.
The P&J Live hosts parking for up to 2,200 vehicles, though visitors are encouraged to use the available public transport options to attend – including discounted rail tickets available through LNER.
