Raising the stakes in offshore wind turbine development
The former chairman of Adwen Offshore replaced Jens Tommerup as CEO of MHI Vestas on 1 April.
The timing was good: the Danish-Japanese joint venture had grown its staff numbers to four digits, accumulated a healthy order book, and incrementally stretched its V164 turbine to be the most powerful on the market at 10MW.
Competition in the offshore sector is set to grow fiercer with GE’s development of a 12MW turbine, while Siemens Gamesa is also thinking beyond the 10MW mark.
But in an interview with Windpower Monthly, Kavafyan expressed confidence in the flexibility and potential growth of its offshore platform, and the track record the company has built in delivering on budget and on schedule.
An expanded rotor, perhaps to 174 metres, is a next likely development.
Growing the company’s presence in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and the UK, while moving into the emerging markets — Poland, the US and Taiwan — are all in Kavafyan’s sights.
