For Immediate Release
Baltimore, MD – November 18, 2014 – Representatives from 250 of the world’s most experienced offshore wind companies attended Oceantic Network’s (otherwise referred to as The Network) International Offshore Partnering Forum in Baltimore from November 12-14, 2014. This 3-day gathering of European and American business executives, government officials, technical experts and academics consisted of over 18 separate workshops and 88 speakers. Participants came from the U.S., Germany, Denmark, United Kingdom, and Norway including Dong Energy, Siemens, Vestas, Alstom, Bladt Industries, Blue Water Shipping and A2Sea.
An International and U.S. Business Partnering Session was held to assist local businesses to connect with experienced international firms. Said Jay Borkland of Apex Companies, LLC “There was more information and networking at this conference than the past three OSW conferences I’ve gone to put together. I am finding the format and the way it’s set up to be very beneficial in terms of encouraging people to team up. I’ve made a number of solid connections. We are going to get the phone calls and meetings and we are actually going to team up and submit proposals together.”
Forum participants heard from US Wind, Inc., the newly selected Maryland Wind Energy Area Developer. U.S. Wind, Inc. expects to have the turbines constructed by 2019. US Wind Inc. is investigating the variety of American companies available for subcontracting opportunities as they begin the process of finding local content to meet the MD Offshore Renewable Energy Credits (OREC) requirements.
“Strategic partnerships and contracts are now being negotiated and soft costs are now being spent by companies positioning themselves to be in the supply chain,” says Liz Burdock, Executive Director, Oceantic Network. “The Maryland offshore wind farm is estimated to be $2.5B with $1B projected to be spent locally. We have regulations (the OREC) in place that requests our developer use as many local companies as possible. The Network is trying to engage those companies we believe can offer significant impact on the project and be able to economically benefit–creating jobs here in Maryland,“ says Burdock.
“It really clicked for me yesterday,” said participant Ikaika Kincaid of MSI Marine Solutions, Inc. “I finally realized where our value fits in the moving puzzle. It wasn’t just one thing. It was a combination of the technical sessions, WindMatch and the networking.”
“[The Network]… did a great job,” said Kristopher Saum of Apex Companies, LLC, “It turned out to be a more engaging opportunity for moving a project forward and networking than I ever expected.” Said Daniel Woodman of Offshore Design Engineering, “How encouraging it is to see how much interest there is in this and offshore wind in general in Maryland.”
For a complete list of participants, speakers and participating foreign companies, see the forum’s website at www.bizmdosw.org/itstartshere.
