World Forum Offshore Wind (WFO) is developing alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for the industry and is setting up an Offshore Dispute Resolution Committee (ODRC).
The committee will oversee the creation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve project disputes in a “timely and cost-effective manner”.
Tobias Voigt (Carneades) and Christian Knutel (Hogan Lovells) have been appointed ODRC co-chairs and the WFO’s new Secretariat for Dispute Resolution Services will be open to receive applications by experts to assist in offshore wind dispute resolution.
The WFO said the increasing number of legal disputes and court cases within the fast-growing offshore wind industry has created a “strong demand for tailor-made alternative dispute resolution mechanisms”.
“The highly complex nature of a large-scale offshore wind project throughout its lifetime from development and construction to operations requires solutions that leverage existing experience, industry knowledge as well as the ability to make quick and balanced decisions,” stated the WFO.
The launch of WFO’s ODRC follows the WFO’s “highly successful” Floating Offshore Wind Committee initiated in early 2020.
The ODRC will bring together companies from around the world to focus on developing alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for offshore wind.
The ODRC is open to all WFO members and will combine leading players from all parts of the global offshore wind value chain with internationally recognised legal experts who have deep knowledge of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
The Secretariat for Dispute Resolution Services is comprised of three roles: secretary general, deputy secretary general and managing secretary.
Initially, these roles will be assumed by Voigt, Knutel (Hogan Lovells) and WFO’s general counsel and Gunnar Herzig respectively.
Voigt said: “Tailor-made alternative dispute resolution mechanisms can help to materially reduce dispute-related costs for large-scale offshore wind projects.”
Voigt is an attorney with a focus on infrastructure and offshore wind. He is the founder and managing partner at Carneades Legal in Hamburg and also leads Carneades Project Services, a commercial project management provider for the wind industry.