DNV has released a study comparing major accident risks and risk management practices in the UK between the offshore oil and gas and the offshore renewables industries which it said suggests off renewables’ regulations should mirror those of oil and gas.
The study, Offshore renewables risk management – A pragmatic safety case says that while the offshore renewables industry has not yet experienced a defining major accident, incident rates are on the rise with the proliferation of offshore power developments. The report proposes integrating the lessons of oil and gas installations into risk assessment of renewables–though renewables are not dealing with hydrocarbons. Many significant accidents, it said, don’t stem from hydrocarbons.
According to DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook Report UK 2025 offshore wind capacity will significantly increase from around 14 GW today to 90 GW in 2050 (including 10 GW of off-grid capacity for hydrogen production). This will increasingly include floating offshore wind facilities, which will be 24% of total offshore wind capacity by 2050. This forecast confirms the growing need to address major accident risk management for offshore renewables over the coming years.
DNV’s study states that offshore renewables are governed by Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, which do not specifically address major accident hazards. This in contrast with the more stingent regulatory framework for offshore oil and gas developed in response to catastrophic events such as Piper Alpha and Deepwater Horizon.
“This study compares, and differentiates between, offshore renewables and offshore oil and gas in terms of the major accident potential, guiding legislation, and risk management guidance available in each industry,” said David Dimelow, Principal Engineer and Lead Author, Energy Systems at DNV. “Our proposal is the adoption of a fit-for-purpose safety case approach for offshore renewables, so that operators can better understand and manage their major accident risk. While currently focused on the UK, a robust risk management approach can readily be applied across different industries and globally.”
