Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd's (Keppel O&M) wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel FELS Ltd (Keppel FELS) has signed a global framework agreement with Ørsted to potentially undertake future offshore substation (OSS) projects.
The agreement is part of a strategic initiative to strengthen the long-term partnership of the two companies and streamline processes for future OSS projects. This follows Keppel O&M’s recent completion of its first project for Ørsted in Singapore in September 2021 – two OSS for Taiwan’s Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind farms.
Mr Chris Ong, CEO of Keppel O&M, said, "We are pleased that Ørsted, the world’s biggest offshore wind developer, has signed a framework agreement with us so we can provide value-added solutions for the long term. It reflects the partnership and trust we have built with Ørsted, as well as the quality of work demonstrated by Keppel O&M on the first two offshore substations we built for them. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with Ørsted as we grow our track record in delivering innovative and cost-efficient solutions for the offshore wind industry.”
With sustainability at the core of Keppel’s Vision 2030 strategy, Keppel O&M has been actively expanding its footprint across the value chain of offshore renewables. Having delivered two OSS to Ørsted for offshore wind farms in the Taiwan strait, it is currently also building an offshore HVDC converter station for TenneT for offshore wind farms in the German sector of the North Sea. More recently, it secured a contract to build two OSS for a renewable energy company and is building the first wind turbine installation vessel, Charybdis, in the U.S for Dominion Energy.
According to Global Wind Energy Council’s 2021 Offshore Wind Report, offshore wind has the biggest growth potential of any renewable energy technology. 235 GW of new offshore wind capacity is forecasted to be installed over the next decade under current policies, a capacity which is seven times bigger than the current market size, and is a 15 per cent increase on the previous year’s forecasts.
The above development is not expected to have a material impact on the net tangible assets or earnings per share of Keppel Corporation Limited for the current financial year.