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Description
Even though in Europe, offshore wind energy has been gaining momentum over the past several years, in Greece there are neither operational nor very mature offshore wind projects. However, the Greek Government aims to add 28 GW of capacity from renewable sources by 2030 where 2.7 GW is expected to come from offshore wind. The regulatory framework in Greece is expected to be adopted in 2023 with the submission for permits (exploration licenses) expected in 2024. Thus, the Greek offshore wind market is slowly starting to take off, with investments up to 7 billion Euros expected to be deployed in offshore wind by 2030.
The project will identify the missing parts of the Greek Offshore Wind supply chain and propose what needs to be done in order to effectively establish and strengthen this supply chain, while promoting the cooperation between Greek and Norwegian businesses.
Preliminary analysis shows that the Greek and Norwegian supply chains have different strengths and capabilities. Thus, it is the project''s approach to establish a partnership between the Norwegian and Greek companies to create strong synergies and commercial opportunities among them.
Specifically, the project will:
i) describe the full supply chain road map and its associated benefits,
ii) create an overview of where Greek and Norwegian businesses fit into the offshore wind supply chain and
iii) analyze the Greek and Norwegian strengths in the offshore wind market.
In addition, the project will also identify possible bottlenecks and challenges for the growth in the Offshore Wind Supply Chain and how these can be tackled so that the first pilot OWF projects, as well as the first exploitation licenses for offshore wind are delivered on time. For this analysis, the project will also involve companies that are considered to belong to "secondary" supply chain sectors, such as cranes and tugboats operators and the cables industry.
Summary of project results
Even though in Europe, offshore wind energy has been gaining momentum over the past several years, in Greece there are neither operational nor very mature offshore wind projects. However, the Greek Government aims to add 28 GW of capacity from renewable sources by 2030 where 2.7 GW is expected to come from offshore wind. The regulatory framework in Greece is expected to be adopted in 2023 with the submission for permits (exploration licenses) expected in 2024. Thus, the Greek offshore wind market is slowly starting to take off, with investments up to 7 billion Euros expected to be deployed in offshore wind by 2030.
The project aimed to identify the missing parts of the Greek Offshore Wind supply chain and propose what needs to be done in order to effectively establish and strengthen this supply chain, while promoting the cooperation between Greek and Norwegian businesses.
The Greek and Norwegian supply chains have different strengths and capabilities. Thus, the project aimed to establish a partnership between the Norwegian and Greek companies to create strong synergies and commercial opportunities among them.
In addition, the project also aimed to identify possible bottlenecks and challenges for the growth in the Offshore Wind Supply Chain and how these can be tackled so that the first pilot Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) projects, as well as the first exploitation licenses for offshore wind are delivered on time. For this analysis, the project also involved companies that are considered to belong to "secondary" supply chain sectors, such as cranes and tugboats operators and the cables industry.
The project was implemented by the Hellenic Wind Energy Association (HWEA - ELETAEN) in collaboration with the Norwegian Offshore Wind (NOW) cluster.
Analysis of the Offshore Wind Supply Chain in Greece, identifying strengths and ways where Norwegian expertise can contribute
- Analysis of supply chain for OWF: NOW conducted a study “Analysis of the offshore wind supply chain” with the objective to determine the challenges, opportunities and the necessary approach for the Greek offshore wind supply chain industry, by transferring their experience on technical aspects of the supply chain, designing a supply chain model which could be applicable in the Greek market and analysing Norwegian strengths in the offshore wind market.
- Analysis of market readiness for offshore wind: Two reports were drafted on market readiness. The first one includes a market survey and an analysis of the supply chain for offshore wind in Greece, based on the findings of a report prepared by HWEA. In the frame of this study, market research was carried out with interviews, to identify the possible "links" of the supply chain, i.e. the Greek companies that could be part of the supply chain. The other one defined a set of the technical specifications for the sites for the construction of a typical Greek offshore wind farm with a reference wind turbine.
- Business opportunities and exploitation: Country visits, workshops both in Greece and Norway, B2B meetings among Norwegian and Greek companies took place. The first results are apparent as the first agreements between the companies of the two countries have already been signed.
The results of these analyses were presented in an event organised by HWEA/ELETAEN in November 2023, where companies in the Offshore Wind supply chain from both Greece and Norway were invited to attend. A B2B workshop followed the event, where Greek and Norwegian companies had the chance to further discuss.
Steps to speed up the OWF roadmap
A report was drafted, including the analysis of possible bottlenecks challenging the growth in the Offshore Wind Supply Chain, as well as possible solutions to speed up the deployment of OWF, including a new augmented survey with supply chain participants (covering the whole supply chain).
Competitive advantages and added value by the development of Wind and Offshore Wind in Greece
A study was conducted aiming to identify the challenges in deploying offshore renewable energy in Greece along with potential socio-economic benefits of this deployment and how OWF could contribute in EU’s energy mix and meeting the targets for decarbonization.
Training session
A meeting of ELETAEN BoD with its corporate members and a training session was organized, presenting the results of the project. Information was also shared to all Norwegian companies that participated in the Workshop organized in November 2023, in order to stay informed about the updates in OWF and encourage them to keep in touch with their Greek counterparts and not to lose the momentum.
The project results will be used in the deployment of the Offshore Wind supply chain in Greece, and contributed to the readiness of the various actors to undertake the pilot as well as the future development projects that are planned in Greece. The project also contributed to collaboration and exchange of expertise between Greek and Norwegian companies that are active in the Offshore Wind sector, sparking discussions as well as the signing of an MoU between a Greek and a Norwegian company to collaborate on future Offshore Wind projects.
Greek companies participating in the events, workshops, and trade missions gained valuable insights on the Offshore Wind industry and are thus better equipped to plan ahead, take advantage of future opportunities and development projects, as well as gain insights and form relations with their Norwegian counterparts.
Summary of bilateral results
The cooperation between HWEA / ELETAEN and the Norwegian Offshore Wind, has been very fruitful and has already brought the first positive results in paving the way for enhanced cooperation in OWF supply chain. Though the Project has been completed, communication and collaboration between the two entities remains strong, as they are both involved in an ongoing process to strengthen local supply chains in Greek and Norwegian markets. The two parties are expected to formally collaborate in the future as well.