Photo : Bas de Blok

Some times all it takes is a photo to demonstrate how much things have changed and what has stayed the same.

I recall as a boy watching jack-up rigs being put into operation off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico in the earlier days of the offshore oil industry.   Recently,  I saw a photo of the jack-up rig GMS Endeavour on the North Sea installing the first wind turbine at the Sheringham Shoal windfarm.  Jack-up rigs, once primarily used for shallow water oil drilling, are now installing and servicing wind turbines.  The wind farm will generate enough power for approximately 220,000 average UK homes.

The energy source has changed but we still need energy from the sea.