Awards honours excellence in offshore wind industry
The first ever Global Offshore Wind Awards, highlighting the achievements of outstanding individuals and companies across the industry, was held in London in late October.
Awards were given out in three categories to highlight key aspects of the offshore wind industry:
- People, Skills and Health and Safety
- Innovation and Excellence
- Environmental, Social and Governance
The full list of award winners:
Offshore Wind Health & Safety and Wellbeing: Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm, where the judges said that the way they included health and safety as an integral part of project planning was the embodiment of best practice in the industry.
Offshore Wind Energy Skills: Celtic Sea Gwynt Glas project. The partners behind this project worked with Pembrokeshire College to launch Destination Renewables, a two-year course which provides a qualification for students aged 16-18 in low-carbon technologies. The course was praised by the judges as the kind of initiative which helps to lay the foundations for our future workforce.
Future Leaders: RWE Renewables’ Senior Stakeholder and Supply Chain Manager, Helen Thomas, who has established a supply chain forum for industry and Government in north Wales and the north west of England, The Offshore Energy Alliance.
Aspiring Leader: Angus Binnian, a cable integrity engineer for Vattenfall. The judges noted that he was promoting the wind industry before he was even working in it – while he was still a student in Energy Engineering at the University of East Anglia, he became a peer mentor delivering wind farm design sessions at local schools and colleges.
Supply Chain Innovation: MJR Power and Automation who designed, built and tested the world’s first electrical charging point on an offshore wind turbine, enabling the de-carbonisation of Operational & Maintenance work with the transition to zero-emission vessels.
Offshore Wind Gamechanger: Siemens Gamesa for developing the world’s first recyclable turbine blade, made from a new type of resin which allows it to be fully recycled or recovered. Siemens Gamesa was also named overall winner with The Judges Award for its global impact on sustainability by developing the recyclable blade.
Offshore Wind Project of the Year: Moray East. The judges were impressed by the innovative approach taken to the development of the site, including the borrowing of jacket technology from the oil industry.
Social Impact: Tony Quinn, Director of Technology Development at ORE Catapult in Blyth, who has been an integral part of social change in the local area, developing Blyth STEM Hub which engages with 2,500 school pupils a year, and the Energy Central Learning Hub, a new education, training and skills facility.
Performance and Reporting Transparency: Dan Smith of Royal HaskoningDHV, for the development of Ensis, a web app which helps to improve the way in which offshore wind assets are monitored.
Equality and Inclusivity: ORE Catapult for demonstrating its strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion by setting up seven diversity forums including interfaith, women and LGBTQ-plus groups.
Just Transition Champion: X-Academy, an initiative by Xodus, which has delivered transformative career opportunities for 26 entrants to the low-carbon sector, with two-year salaried placements giving participants secondments in the industry.
Outstanding Contribution: Benj Sykes Ørsted’s Vice President, Offshore, Head of Environment, Consenting & External Affairs, for his work in the offshore wind industry.
The awards were organised by RenewableUK, whose chief executive, Dan McGrail said: “We’ve inaugurated these awards to enable us to identify and celebrate specific achievements within our sector, and to inspire others as we accelerate towards a net zero future. The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and it’s right to celebrate what drives our industry forward – growth, innovation, the vibrancy and resilience of our supply chain, our incredible people and the quality of our provisions on health and safety.”
