Report Demand for Divers
According to a report commissioned by subsea training provider The Underwater Centre in Fort William, more than 2,200 commercial divers will be needed to help build and develop Europe’s offshore wind sector as it rapidly expands over the next six years. The report has studied the number of divers who will be needed to meet the renewable energy targets which have been set by governments across Europe.
The study, which was carried out by Douglas Westwood, focuses on the installation and maintenance phases of offshore wind farm development over the next six years. It concludes that 1,700 divers will be needed during the installation phase and that 2013 will see a peak in demand with 500 divers required, mainly in the UK and Germany. With the potential of 3,800 turbines coming online in Europe by 2016, an additional 500 divers would be required during the operations and maintenance phase.
Steve Ham, General Manager of The Underwater Centre, said the new report underlines the integral role that commercial divers will play in the offshore wind farm sector: “We have been speaking for some time about how there will be an increased need for commercial divers to meet the demands of the nascent renewables sector, specifically the high number of wind farms that have been planned. This report reinforces our message that there is a danger that demand will outstrip availability of trained subsea personnel which, in turn, could affect the progression of some of the wind farm projects.”