Accelerating the Energy Transition

In this Q&A series, GWEC invites members and in-house experts to share their knowledge and expertise in wind energy. To be featured in the next issue, contact diana.sumanan@gwec.net.

Dear Reader,

I am Paul Trevillyan,

Global Director for Onshore Wind at Bureau Veritas (BV), a world leader in testing, inspection, certification and advisory services.

I am based in Singapore and have 16 years of experience in the renewables industry, including a long history with Wind OEMs managing contracts in APAC and managing contract risk.

Currently, I am looking into developing onshore wind services for BV globally.

What do you think about the growth of wind energy in APAC?

Although APAC has one of the most attractive growth potentials of any region globally (global energy consumption was at 43% in 2022), we are still facing some large barriers preventing or slowing wind project development.

Last year, the BV team conducted a global study from February to April 2023, where we surveyed over 800 market experts and industry leaders worldwide in the energy sector.

The survey's outcome is the 2023 BV Energy Transition Report, which examines the short-term barriers we must remove to keep accelerating the energy transition and stay within the 1.5% world.

The report found that respondents are truly divided about the world's ability to transition at the required pace to reach the Paris 1.5°C target.

If 81% agree that we will see a significant acceleration towards 2030, only 60% believe sufficient progress will be made in removing barriers in the short term.

What do you think are some trends we need to pay attention to?

The 2023 BV Energy Transition Survey results highlighted four pressing issues in order of importance:

Government Policy & Regulatory Context

36% would choose simplifying permitting if they could have only one measure from the Government.

Advances in Technology

40% do not believe current technologies can deliver 1.5°C and that significant investment in R&D is needed.

Scaling up supply chains

90% say the geographical concentration of supply chains is among their top challenges and needs immediate solutions.

Mobilising a global workforce

70% say they struggle to hire skilled and experienced engineers, technical staff and construction managers.

Share with us an exciting project the BV team is working on.

BV has long been a leader in global supply chain services, with thousands of inspectors worldwide ensuring the quality of our customers' components before they leave the factory.

We recently released a new digital solution called Supply-Q, which allows customers to collate their onsite quality audit data from multiple locations, projects, and technology types.

Supply-Q allows for easy visualisation and analysis of supplier and component quality trends and tracking of project status through a fully customisable dashboard. It uses BV Analytics to enable Business Intelligence for decision-making.

How can this project help with meeting the 3xRenewables goal by 2030?

As seen in the 2023 BV Energy Transition Report results, 50% of respondents cite Supply Chain Quality Issues as their top supply chain issue and say they lack the resources to monitor components in their supply chain.

Utilising a combination of experienced onsite supply chain auditors and the digital solutions offered by BV, including our Supply-Q analytics dashboard and other technological advances, such as the use of HoloLens™ technology for our auditors, ensures that no matter where in the world you are, you can have as much information at your fingertips as if you were in the manufacturing facility yourself.

How can the industry collaborate with Bureau Veritas?

We are always looking to collaborate with all players in the energy sector, from lenders, OEMs and developers to owners and suppliers.

One way for you to collaborate with us is to provide feedback on the state of play for the wind industry in the 2024 BV Energy Transition Survey. We hope to get more survey responses this year to get the most representative view of the current challenges.

The survey is closing in a few days. Have your say as an energy industry expert today!

Check out these recent reports by GWEC:

Global Wind Report 2024

How Offshore Wind Development Can Support Coastal Regeneration

Mission Critical: Building the global Wind Energy Supply Chain for a 1.5°C World