Cadeler CEO Mikkel Gleerup has said that the years 2029 and 2030 will be busy ones for offshore wind installations and vessel owners like Cadeler.
He told analysts on a third quarter earnings call this week: “I think the confidence level is primarily built on the number of projects we are bidding at the moment, but also how our clients are willing to commit to these bids if they can secure capacity.”
He also said that despite the lower than expected budget for the UK’s AR7 auction, a “significant amount of projects can be approved”.
Cadeler has a 2.9bn backlog of projects across Europe, East Asia, and the US.
The vessel owner has an undisclosed client for a foundation and turbine installation programme in 2029, and also has a vessel reservation agreement (not included in its backlog) for turbine installation on an undisclosed project in 2028.
Some 78% of the backlog projects have reached FID, Gleerup said.
The Cadeler boss added that he feels confident there will be successful bidding in Denmark’s upcoming auction, which coupled with projects to be funded under AR7 will create significant demand in the vessel market.
“We do expect a vessel undersupply towards the end of the decade and the beginning of the next decade,” Gleerup told analysts.
He added that developers will be willing to pay top dollar to get projects built.
Gleerup said: “I think that we are getting this confidence from the projects we are bidding, and also the clients that are willing to put money where their mouth is, so to speak, on their projects.”