Saipem and Seaway7 Announce Collaboration Agreement for Offshore Wind Projects

(Credit: Saipem)

Saipem and Seaway7 have announced that they have entered into a commercial collaboration agreement to jointly identify, bid, and execute fixed offshore wind projects.

The companies will pursue selected projects where the combined utilization of the companies’ complementary world-class assets, technologies, products, and competencies will improve project economics.  Saipem and Seaway7 will deploy key enabling assets and capabilities to cover activities such as front-end engineering design (FEED), procurement, construction, transportation, and installation of foundations and inner-array cables, as well as the installation of substations and wind generator turbines. The target projects are large integrated turnkey developments in Europe, the UK, and the US, with the possibility of expanding to other geographic areas.

The collaboration will work to improve operational flexibility and enable early engagement with both clients and the supply chain to optimize design and execution strategies, and to secure critical enabling assets, including vessels and yards.

Recent reports show that offshore wind has the potential to deliver 90% of America’s projected 2050 electricity demand. This finding comes from Offshore Wind for America, a new report released Thursday by Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group which examines US offshore wind potential by coastal region and by state. Offshore Wind for America also documents the status of existing projects and technological advances. 

The European Commission has also recently approved, under EU State aid rules, a $2.23 billion French measure to support offshore wind electricity production in France. The measure will contribute to achieving France’s energy and environmental targets, as well as the objectives relating to the EU’s Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy and the European Green Deal.

France notified the Commission of its intention to support the construction and operation of a floating offshore wind farm in the sea off the coast of the South of Brittany.  The aid measure, which will run for a period of 20 years starting with the operation of the wind farm in 2028, will have a total maximum budget of $2.23 billion.