A Journey from Denmark to Australia: Championing Offshore Wind Development

Q: Can you share about your journey in the wind industry and what led to your secondment from Denmark to Australia?

MAG: Back in 2002, I came across a picture of the Horns Reef 1 Offshore Wind Farm on the frontpage of a magazine. Located on the West coast of Denmark, this was the first large scale offshore wind farm in the world, and I was fascinated by these huge turbines rising from the sea. I was in the 4th year of my Chemical Engineering studies, and from that moment on, all my efforts went into pursuing a career in offshore wind. After graduating from a Master’s degree in Sustainable Energy Technology in The Netherlands, I started my professional career in Ramboll, and 17 years later I am as passionate and committed as ever. Along the way, I have run 7 Offshore Wind Foundation Detail Design projects from beginning to end, provided technical support to many others, and worked alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry.

Around 12 years ago I visited Australia for the first time, and I fell in love with the country. The nature, the people, the multicultural vibe; everything, really. Since then, Australia has always been at the top of my family’s list in case we would one day decide to move away from Denmark. If you couple this with the current state of the industry Down Under, where the first offshore wind auction is soon to be announced, opening the door for a number of fascinating projects with unique technical and logistical challenges, it is not surprising that the attraction to this country just grew stronger. That’s why when our Ramboll Wind management team opened the door for potential secondments in APAC, I didn’t hesitate in expressing my interest, which eventually crystallised in my family’s recent move to Melbourne. Now I am really excited to have the opportunity to take part in the emerging offshore wind industry in Australia.

Q: What lessons from the European offshore wind market do you think are most relevant for Australia’s and Asia Pacific’s development?

MAG: Due to the current global market conditions, I think it is crucial that Australia and the wider APAC region learn from recent European experience, and focus on identifying the best auction design possible to address the market’s current challenges through a close dialogue with the industry. Among others, aspects like reasonable timelines, achievable local content requirements, swift and efficient permitting procedures and well-balanced subsidy schemes are all to be carefully considered in the auction design.

Despite the announced delay in Victoria, we are nearing the first offshore wind auction ever been called in Australian territory, and it is very important that this becomes a success story that showcases the benefits of these huge renewable energy projects to the public, as well as showing the way forward to organisations entering the market in the wake of the first movers. Moreover, an offshore wind development plan beyond the first auction would help unlock local, large-scale investments, as well as the growth of a strong offshore wind ecosystem, by providing the necessary certainty about the long-term commitment of the Australian authorities to the industry.

Furthermore, important lessons can also be drawn from other APAC countries, in relation to local content requirements, for example, which are very important but should be set under consideration of realistic timelines for development and growth of the local supply chain.

Q: The industry is currently facing a talent shortage. What can the industry collectively do to upskill the local workforce and attract talent into offshore wind?

MAG: The offshore wind industry employs a long list of different profiles, in a wide range of disciplines across engineering, manufacturing of major components, equipment supply, onshore and offshore construction, operation and maintenance of both offshore and onshore assets, operation of vessels, etc. Many of these profiles can be directly found locally - for example, sailors, onshore construction works, onshore transmission and substation operators, etc, while others can be transferred from similar industries as offshore oil and gas. Luckily, there is a well-rooted Oil and Gas industry in Australia which can be tapped into in the search for the skilled workforce required to develop offshore wind projects.

Furthermore, it is essential to increase the visibility of our industry in technical education programmes. Today’s students will become tomorrow’s workforce, and if we want to attract talent, we need to inoculate the passion for this exciting, challenging and purposeful industry. In this regard, it is important to emphasise the need to attract more bright women to a rather male-dominated workforce.

Finally, transferring workforce - whether temporarily or permanently - with deep knowledge and experience in this industry from overseas would not only support the safe development of the first projects by ensuring that lessons learned in other parts of the world are considered in the Australian context, but also would accelerate the training and knowledge transfer to the local workforce.

Q: What role do funding and subsidies play in accelerating offshore wind development, and how important is this early investment in infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities to support the industry’s growth?

MAG: The current market conditions, with surging raw material and component prices, high interest rates, geopolitical instability and supply chain bottlenecks have meant that project economies have become highly strained in recent years. As offshore wind projects are heavily capital-intensive, it is crucial for developers to have certainty about their future revenue to reduce investment risk, and to be able to obtain investor support to ensure project funding. Support mechanisms such as CfDs (Contracts for Difference) have been – and will remain to be – a key enabler for the deployment of offshore wind projects.

Moreover, while it is paramount that local societies experience the benefits of the offshore wind industry in the form of job creation, it is also not realistic that each and every country develops a supply chain that covers the full spectrum of assets and services. In Ramboll we advocate for a rational regionalisation of the supply chain, where each country focuses on specific segments. This would fulfill the need for local job creation while ensuring healthy pipelines and the sustainability of the business in the long term. In this scenario, cross country coordination of auction volumes and timelines in the APAC region would be ideal, in order to avoid large oscillations on the order books.

Q: Ramboll supports global mobility for its employees to encourage knowledge transfers and collaboration, what are some of the benefits for you, personally and professionally?

MAG: I am personally very proud to work for a company that has knowledge sharing imprinted in its DNA, and that encourages and facilitates employee mobility. I am very eager to learn more about the local approaches and specific challenges arising in the development of offshore wind projects in Australia, and to apply my knowledge and experience to help clients tackle them. I am also looking forward to the knowledge exchange with the local Ramboll team in Australia and the wider APAC region.

From a personal perspective, this opportunity allows us as a family to embark on an adventure to explore and live in this fantastic country. From landscape, to nature, traditional culture or population diversity, my family and I are very excited about our new home.