Insuring Offshore Wind Growth Amid Rising Risks, Defects And Claims

The world is teetering on the brink of the greatest oil supply crisis in history. Future energy security dictates that the expansion of power generation based on renewables must be speeded up exponentially. In this region and in so many others, that of course includes offshore wind.

Even before the 2026 Iran war, which has highlighted the world’s alarming vulnerability to oil and gas shortages, the IEA was forecasting that offshore wind was expected to increase by a factor of about four times between 2015 and 2030. Offshore wind farms are a key plank of renewable energy policy in the UK and EU as was already demonstrated by the clean energy pact signed between the UK and EU at Hamburg in January. However, the harsh conditions to which offshore installations are subject, together with the fact that this is an evolving industry with brand new technologies, means the cost of defects, damage and failure present issues for insurers and insureds alike.