Networks & Project examples

Networks

Project examples

Competition in the offshore wind industry is getting tougher and prices are falling not only on the supply side, but also on the demand side. This leads to increased pressure that requires highly efficient project and contract management to ensure profitable projects despite low margins.

Competition in the offshore wind industry is getting tougher and prices are falling not only on the supply side, but also on the demand side. This leads to increased pressure that requires highly efficient project and contract management to ensure profitable projects despite low margins. Low margins on both the supply and demand side consequently lead to increased efforts by all parties involved to enforce their contractual rights.

From a technical perspective, the cable market is characterised by a stagnant but high number of failures, both for export and indoor cables. Given the low profit margins that remain, such failures are becoming increasingly problematic for the party bearing the consequences of such failures. Of course, engineers should strive to minimise the risk of such failures, but some risk will remain as technology continues to evolve.

In the case of substations, the problem of significant delays in completing work persists. The market is trying to mitigate this problem by a) designing minimalist substations and b) making them redundant altogether. Nevertheless, some projects and especially TSOs cannot avoid building more substations and are still exposed to the risk of their size and complexity.Therefore, both thorough contractual protection and sophisticated compensation strategies are becoming increasingly important to avoid significant financial losses.
With our specialised team of consultants at CARNEADES, we are able to support our clients in all aspects of contract management and especially in times of high demand. With our strong legal and technical background, we are ideally placed to assess and resolve the issues at hand.

Project management

With the increasing internationalisation of the offshore wind energy market and the entry of new players into the market, the pressure on the supplier side to serve this growing market is increasing. Not only do suppliers have to operate in multiple markets, but they also have to manage an increasing number of tendering processes and bidders simultaneously. The ability to analyse tender documents quickly and efficiently provides the opportunity to focus on the most important aspects of each tender and serve as many customers as possible.
In order to survive in this highly competitive market, the ability to manage subcontractors efficiently is also becoming increasingly important. This includes not only the actual management during execution, but also the structuring of subcontracts and the management of the risk arising from subcontracts.
Thanks to our many years of experience in supporting offshore wind projects, both technically and legally, we are able to offer solutions that are perfectly tailored to our clients’ needs.

Analysis

As problems often arise during project implementation, the ability to recognise the causes and find solutions is the key to success.
As a result of increasing financial pressure on projects, the need to complete projects in a short timeframe is growing. As buffers become smaller and smaller, the risk of project delays increases. Should such a delay occur, the ability to recognise and present the logical dependencies of the delay events is crucial.
We are able to bring in the right expertise for each problem to ensure efficient and effective solutions
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Project example – Takeover of operational and strategic claim management for an international offshore wind farm operator

Initial situation:

• Work packages for the completion of an offshore substation are increasingly falling behind schedule due to the poor performance of suppliers
• Demands to postpone the completion dates and compensation payments are made by the main suppliers
• Delivered and contractually owed performance does not meet the technical specifications

Solution:

• Definition of the claim management strategy
• Prioritisation of the processing of external and internal claims
• Preparation of the document / factual situation and the possible basis for claims
• Selection of suitable counterstatements and own claims in line with the claim management strategy and dispatch of these
• Initiation of negotiations and identification of the necessary remaining work

Benefit:

• Defence against unjustified claims and changes in performance
• Assertion of contractually owed services and penalties
• Initiation of settlement negotiations for points where both parties have a strong incentive to avoid arbitration proceedings

Contact us

CARNEADES Project Services GmbH
Überseering 4
D-22297 Hamburg

contact@carneades.com
Tel: +49 40 63 70730-0
Fax: +49 40 63 70730-9