Meet Marie Hegot

Q: Tell us about yourself

MH: I have a Masters Degree in Oceanography and Marine engineering from France and I started my career in the Oil and Gas Industry.

After 10 years working as an installation manager in the Pipelay and FPSO anchoring system engineering and construction, where I was involved in huge projects in different countries, I decided to try a career change and move to Australia.

When I first arrived in Australia seven years ago, the offshore wind industry was not well developed, so I decided to join the Marina Industry. It gave me a real opportunity to become more familiar with the construction regulations in Australia and the challenges related to local content and supply chain, as well as the cost of labour and local manufacturing.

I joined Ramboll in January this year as the Head of Offshore Wind in Australia. My role consists of combining our global expertise and our local presence to face the market with a unique and holistic offer. This allows us to help the emerging Australian offshore wind industry address its needs, and support developers across different stages of the development of an offshore wind farm; namely from a blend of technical, commercial and environmental perspectives. My goal is to eventually grow a team of local experts who will bring all the knowledge of Ramboll to Australia.

Q: What are the challenges and opportunities you see in the offshore wind industry in Australia?

MH: Let’s start with the opportunities. To me, Australia has always been an incredible country full of resources and potential. According to a NOPSEMA study, with our vast coastlines, Australia has the potential to generate up to 5,000 GW of electricity from OFW. Our government targets to reach net zero by 2050, and OFW will be key to reaching this ambitious goal. This industry could create thousands of jobs, develop schools and universities to train skilled personnel, as well as expand our academic resources and capabilities to work in R&D for new technologies and sustainable infrastructure; expanding our capacities in local manufacturing and supply of raw material like green steel in 6 to 10 years’ time. We have a strong foundation across institutions and infrastructures, now it is a matter of upgrading and investing.

In terms of challenges, starting a new industry is always a big challenge. I have worked in Africa where we put in place fabrication yards for the oil and gas industry. From what I saw, I can say that a lot can be done with experience, investments and taking lessons from what has already been done. Nevertheless, I have also realized the magnitude of the offshore wind industry and the capabilities required to address the supply chain, logistics as well as the infrastructures and assets required to store, assemble and install an offshore wind farm, which is a step above the O&G industry.

Q: What are Ramboll’s most valuable experiences and capabilities in offshore wind within Australia and globally?

MH: What impressed me the most when I started with Ramboll is that we have expertise in every single topic related to an offshore wind farm. We have teams of experts working on the most technical parts of a development, such as the foundation design, the electrical systems and OSS, as well as all the logistics, ports, and installation requirements. We are involved as owner’s engineer on projects, but we can also cover other topics that are more related to the commercial and execution aspects like the LCOE and bid preparation using advanced software and methodologies. We also have the capability to handle all the advisory services at an early stage, by using our knowledge in engineering and our significant databases built on the basis of having been involved in 60% of all the OFW projects around the world.

Q: What are some of the key issues faced by the different stakeholders in the offshore wind industry in Australia, and how do we overcome them?

MH: Despite the real proactivity of the federal and state governments to establish a regulatory framework, there are still a lot of uncertainties related to the process to reach the CFD and the FID for the developers who want to invest in OFW in Australia. Moreover, there will be significant financial investments required from these developers to conduct environmental surveys, geophysical and geotechnical investigation before being able to better understand the design required for the foundations and the type of investment it will involve. I would say that working with consultancies like Ramboll, who has strong project track records from all over the world will help understand the requirements, and what can be put in place to set up a cost-effective and innovative project to stay competitive all the way.

Also, despite Australia’s great capabilities and potential in this industry, we are facing challenges partly due to our remote location compared to the rest of the world. Mobilising vessels here is costly, and the cost of transport for the goods will also be significant. There are also uncertainties about the volume of projects and components that will need to be delivered, how many concurrent projects will need to be delivered, and when. Facing these uncertainties is a challenge for manufacturing companies and other infrastructures like the ports who will need to invest in upgrading their current facilities to be able to handle and deliver such massive components, which also take years. Putting a clear strategy in place with the help of the government and setting realistic targets for local content will certainly help.

Q: What is the one most important thing that you think sets Ramboll apart?

MH: Avant gardist by setting high-ambition targets such as moving out of the O&G industry and focusing the business only on renewable energies and other crucial projects that bring sustainable outcomes to the society.

Most importantly, what sets a company apart is its people. We have 700 passionate and very experienced people working every day to close the gap to a sustainable future, with great integrity and work ethic, and are always ready to share the knowledge.

Q: What attracted you to work at Ramboll?

MH: What I have appreciated the most since I joined this industry is working for a company that values sustainability in every aspect of the business; one that is investing in net zero and decarbonisation targets, investing in a strong culture of diversity and inclusion, where I can relate to and be inspired by other women and men leaders, and colleagues from a variety of cultures and backgrounds.

Plus, I won’t hide the truth. I do have a passion for renewable energies and contributing to the development of the Australian offshore wind industry. It makes perfect sense to join a Danish company that is at the forefront of offshore wind developments around the world. Ramboll has 35 years of offshore wind experience in developed markets such as Denmark, Germany, and the UK and fast-developing markets such as the US, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. The opportunities to learn and gain experiences through projects around the world was one of the differentiators.