DNV: Proposing Revised Risk Management for Renewables Energy

DNV is an expert in risk management and assurance, operating in more than 100 countries.

Through its broad experience and deep expertise DNV advances safety and sustainable performance, sets industry benchmarks and inspires and invents solutions.

Rising incidents demand new approach

It has been looking at major accident risks and risk management practices in the UK between the offshore oil and gas and the offshore renewables industries – which DNV believes shows that there is now a demand for a revised approach to managing major accident hazards in offshore renewables – especially as the UK moves towards its net-zero emissions goal.

The study Offshore Renewables Risk Management: A Pragmatic Safety Case demonstrates that even though the offshore renewable industry is yet to suffer a major accident, there is a rise in the number of incidents.

With this, there is a clear mandate for the risk management strategies to be improved, particularly as oil and gas accidents in the past give vital insights and lessons which are yet to be embedded into the renewables sector.

Hari Vamadevan, Senior Vice President and Regional Director for the UK and Ireland, Energy Systems at DNV, emphasised the importance of this initiative: "As offshore renewables projects increase in number, scale and complexity, research shows that accident and injury rates are also increasing.

"The interaction of complex systems is another source of potential new risks.

"Regulation in the oil and gas industry requires identification and management of major accident risk, but there is no mandated need for this in offshore renewables. This study compares major accident risk and risk management in the two industries and proposes a common risk management approach."

Learning from oil and gas experience

With incidents becoming more common, and, as a result, increasing in severity, the renewables sector working offshore should now shift its mindset – becoming more proactive and structured when it comes to safety.

DNV has become known for being at the forefront of offshore safety and while the safety case framework is well-established in oil and gas, its tailored application to renewables marks a meaningful shift.

DNV believes that, for renewables risk, it is a mirror to those seen in the oil and gas industry – but is required to be managed differently. The proposed framework provides a pragmatic path for the sector to strengthen its safety culture and become tools which prevent future major accidents.

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 is a reason to believe that there is a growing need to address major accident risk management for offshore renewables over the coming years.

Tailored safety case framework for renewables

DNV's study highlights that the regulatory framework for offshore oil and gas is defined by stringent safety case regulations, developed in response to catastrophic events such as Piper Alpha and Deepwater Horizon.

In contrast, offshore renewables is currently governed by broader legislation, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, which do not specifically address major accident hazards.

There is also a belief from the study that the current guidance leading the renewables industry shows a pattern in spotlighting occupational safety – while failing to address the risk which goes alongside major accidents.

The risk management practices which have been put in place in the oil and gas industry can provide the platform for solutions which can be adapted to suit the unique challenges of offshore renewables.

DNV has proposed a tailored safety case approach for offshore renewables. This framework incorporates hazard identification and both risk assessment and management, aiming to provide a clear and comprehensive method to communicate risk strategies to both the workforce and stakeholders.

David Dimelow, Principal Engineer and Lead Author, Energy Systems at DNV, concludes: "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.

"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."