With the global focus on reducing carbon emissions, the offshore wind industry has experienced a huge amount of growth over the past decade. As countries set ambitious targets to reduce reliance on hydrocarbon-based fuel, they are continuing to invest in renewable clean energy sources including solar, hydrogen, and offshore wind. With its enormous potential and the global desire for clean energy sources, offshore wind energy is leading the charge.
Co-written by Oliver Epsom, Interface Manager
Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) reports that the global wind industry installed a record 117GW of new capacity in 2023 (a 50% increase from the previous year), making it the best year ever for new wind energy (Global Wind Report 2024 - Global Wind Energy Council). In addition, GWEC has increased its forecast for total wind power capacity additions for 2030 by 107WF, a year over year growth of 10%.
With this fast-paced growth, developers are constantly under pressure to reduce costs while still executing projects rapidly. The global offshore wind scene has seen dramatic improvements and innovation over the last two decades but will have to continue this trend if it is to meet the challenge of ever-increasing demands. Innovative approaches will be needed to scale up this renewable energy source quickly and sustainably, reduce project risk, and deliver on time.
A project showstopper is when a project stops work, work is delayed, transition from construction to commissioning is delayed, in service date is delayed, or start up is delayed. In short, any event or condition throwing the project irrevocably off the original plan or scope can be considered a showstopper.
With the increased scale (and therefore cost) and performance expectations facing wind farms, project showstoppers and the resulting impact are a very real threat – and something that project teams are always looking to avoid.
Challenges that can trigger project showstoppers in offshore wind farm projects include:
To meet global and project objectives, developers must navigate the challenge of managing costs, while constructing larger wind farms in deeper waters and potentially less mature markets. To control expenses and operate within the constraints of the existing supply chain, many offshore wind farm projects adopt a multi-contracting approach. These complex delivery models are often referred to as “Contractual Quilts,” – as shown in Figure 1 below.
Contracting with several different specialized suppliers introduces added interface risk because it means more integration points or interdependencies that can cause major issues on these projects if not formally managed. Managing these interfaces, or interdependencies, between suppliers becomes crucial.
Figure 1: Example of a Delivery Model for an Offshore Wind Farm from Norsk Industries
Effective management of these interdependencies helps reduce redundancies, uncertainties, misalignments, and surprises, enabling developers to deliver projects in a consistent and repeatable manner. Ultimately, this helps to reduce project showstoppers!
Alignment across stakeholders is essential for successful project delivery when dealing with these complex delivery models. Alignment ensures that all stakeholders are focused on shared objectives, with a clear understanding of interfaces, deliverables, and deadlines.
Offshore wind farms consist of the following complex systems, delivered by various stakeholders with overlapping responsibilities. Successful project execution requires continuous alignment and collaboration among these parties throughout all phases of the project.
Figure 2: Offshore Wind Farm - Contributed by Oliver Epsom
With multiple complex scopes, not only are there more interfaces to manage but also a higher risk of significant scope being overlooked. For instance, questions arise such as: who is supplying the bolts, who provides the tools to tighten them, and who is responsible for the preservation of components delivered by one contractor but installed by another. A well-defined division of responsibilities is essential to ensure that these details are not overlooked, as failing to address them can lead to costly delays and renegotiations.
While interface management in wind farms isn’t a new concept, it is increasingly essential due to the growing complexities in wind farm development.
Interface management is the business process used to ensure technical data about project interfaces is shared in a consistent, timely, and efficient manner between all contractors, design teams, and any other relevant stakeholders involved in the project.
Interfaces are defined as the boundary between scopes of work. They define the scope of work under a contractor’s responsibility which may influence or be influenced by the scope of work covered by another contractor.
Most interfaces require the exchange of equipment, information, and deliverables and can represent physical interfaces as well as environmental and regulatory. For example, a foundation designer will require extensive information from a WTG supplier to design a suitable foundation. The cable design and supply contractor will need extensive information from the site investigation contractor and electrical systems designer to design and supply a sufficient cable.
Interface management helps project teams mitigate interface-related risk by controlling interfaces from an early stage of the project life cycle, as well as by formalizing collaboration and creating required lines of communication between project delivery teams. Early identification of project interfaces ensures teams are aligned, eliminates ambiguity between teams, and establishes clear lines of responsibility.
Projects that implement a formal interface management program can minimize cost growth related to interface issues, including:
The outcome is improved project performance and a reduction in the probability of costly mistakes and reworks.
Offshore wind power is becoming a key contributor to the energy transition. To mitigate potential project roadblocks or showstoppers, adopting an interface management process is essential. This process helps align all project stakeholders, ensuring that the complexity of the project is fully understood and that the necessary effort to manage interfaces is clearly defined.
Implementing interface management requires a shift in mindset—a transition from a reactive to a proactive approach of managing project interfaces. It also fosters better alignment across delivery teams, improving the coordination needed to successfully execute the project.
By following a structured interface management process, project teams can enhance predictability in complex environments, reduce the risk of major setbacks, and increase the likelihood of achieving the expected value outlined at project authorization.
Coreworx Interface Connect is a proven solution used by major capital projects to effectively formalize scope delineation between contracting parties who share interface boundaries. This formal process helps internal and external collaborating parties avoid scope gaps, overlaps, and integration issues that can occur when interfaces are not properly managed.
To see how Interface Connect helps projects accomplish this, watch our demo, Avoiding Design Integration Issues with Interface Management