Windfarm venture sparks hope for Ezion

It has signed a deal with Huadian.

With China lagging on its 5GW target of installed offshore wind capacity by 2015 and 30GW by 2020, rig and offshore logistics support service provider Ezion is venturing into wind farm to grab a share of first-mover advantage.

According to DBS Group Research, Ezion has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Huadian, one of the top five largest state-owned power generation enterprises in China to speed up the installation of offshore wind farms using liftboats.

"China is behind schedule with approximately only 2.5GW offshore wind capacity installed. A liftboat would facilitate
installations of 200MW offshore wind capacity a year. Assuming 27.5GW of wind capacity to be installed over the next five years or 5.5GW per year, there would 25-30 liftboats required in China," the research firm said.

The first service rig for a China wind farm is expected to commence in 1Q17.

"We believe demand will continue to grow in this region as liftboats/service rigs are in early stages of the industry cycle, to substitute workboats and barges that are traditionally used to support offshore production platforms," DBS said.

It furthered, "Ezion enjoys first-mover advantage to tap the industry’s growth. In addition, its recent venture into offshore wind farm could be a medium-term growth engine as well."