Leading companies in the renewable energy sector, RES, GEV Wind Power, Outreach Offshore, and Rix Renewables, have jointly launched the Offshore Wind O&M Partnership (OWOP), an amalgamation of complementary service providers based in the United Kingdom. The primary objective of this alliance is to offer offshore wind asset owners a comprehensive suite of high-quality, long-term Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services.
By establishing a “one-stop shop” for essential O&M services, the partnership brings together nearly a century of collective experience. Their mission is to provide an exceptionally coordinated and agile approach aimed at minimizing downtime and optimizing the performance of offshore wind assets. Under a single contract, asset owners will gain access to a wide range of typical services, including turbine, blade, substation, and balance of plant O&M, as well as workboats and advanced digital tools.
One of the partnership's core objectives is to “significantly reduce” the complexity and resource demands associated with the conventional approach of subcontracting multiple O&M services. This streamlined approach not only offers a more strategic outlook for asset owners but also guarantees the highest safety standards in execution.
Leveraging technology, the partnership plans to synchronize various work schedules, enhancing efficiency in asset downtime and technician availability. This, in turn, will free up management's time to focus on the growing pipeline of offshore wind projects.
Simon Deacon, Director of Operations and Maintenance at RES, emphasized the partnership's goal: “We've launched this partnership to ease the operational headache wind asset owners can face when organizing O&M services. As the number of offshore wind assets continues to grow, the traditional way of contracting O&M services is becoming more complex and tiresome. At the same time, we are seeing a growing trend towards multi-service scopes, but few providers able to respond competitively. This strategic alliance of complementary UK service companies offers a new approach to securing high-quality O&M services; through just one contract, owners will be able to secure all the core services required to operate and maintain their assets, while being assured that the work will be executed to an industry-leading standard.”
