Meet the Team: Gokul Kannan
At OWC, our teams are expanding into more locations, areas of expertise, and sectors of influence. Our people are at the heart of what we do. We invite you to get to know our team members so you can meet the energy behind change.
One of the people helping to drive that momentum in Germany is Gokul Kannan, Consultant in Idependent Engineering and Cost Engineering at OWC Hamburg. He is a key contributor within OWC’s independent engineering and technical advisory teams.
In recognition of his impact, Gokul has been nominated for Rising Star of the Year at the Wind Investment Awards 2026. The nomination highlights his contribution and reflects the depth of expertise within OWC Germany.
It also recognises Gokul as part of the next generation of technical leaders shaping the future of wind energy and independent engineering.
Let’s get to know Gokul better.
Title: Consultant, Independent Engineering and Cost Engineering
Office: Hamburg, Germany
Hobbies: Indoor climbing, badminton, karaoke, following Arsenal (hopefully not jinxing my team this year)
Favourite movie / book / song: Tough task to pick one. Perhaps a song that has been my favourite for the past few years. “Coffee Black” by Fat Freddy’s Drop!
Give us a glimpse into your day-to-day life at OWC. What keeps you on your toes?
Being a part of both the due diligence and cost engineering teams, my day-to-day often involves switching between understanding technical scopes on offshore and onshore renewable projects and assessing what they mean from a cost and risk perspective. With each project moving at a different pace, there are lots of learnings to take from each, which keeps things interesting.
What drew you to the industry and what keeps you passionate about it?
Growing up in Tamil Nadu in South India, a state that has strong wind resources in the subcontinent, I was fascinated by seeing wind turbines from different generations on the outskirts of my hometown. This curiosity eventually led me to my studies and to moving to Hamburg, which I see as one of the best places to be for wind energy. Here, you get the chance to meet professionals in the field easily and get their perspectives.
Can you tell us about something exciting you are working on right now?
Alongside offshore wind work, I’m also involved in onshore renewables. Recently, I’ve been acting as part of the Lender’s Technical Advisor team for one of Germany’s largest ground-mounted solar parks, reviewing progress milestones and supporting the lenders with payment decisions. It’s exciting to see how our technical support directly supports the project’s momentum.
From a wind energy investment due diligence perspective and drawing on current market intelligence across fixed and floating wind, what emerging supply chain and technical risks should investors factor into negotiations to ensure resilience and bankability?
As offshore wind turbines continue to scale up in size and capacity, one of the biggest challenges is the ability of the supply chain to keep up. New turbine platforms often don’t reach sufficient commercial maturity to reap the rewards of standardisation, not just for the turbine OEM, but also for the foundation suppliers and the installation vessel owners.
Which ageing infrastructure risks in wind energy – such as foundation fatigue, mooring degradation, and export system limitations – should be prioritised during technical due diligence as they have the greatest potential to impact long-term asset performance and protect investor value?
The challenge extends into the operational phase as well. O&M experience isn’t always completely transferable to the newer turbine platforms which has an impact on reliability assumptions. Ultimately these factors have an influence on investor confidence. This is where we as consultants are able to support investors with our technical expertise.
Beyond the work, what makes you tick outside of the office?
Keeping in touch with family, friends and discovering new music (anything from indie post-rock).
Strategic Decision-Making with Technical Due Diligence Advisory for Renewable Assets
OWC delivers independent engineering and technical due diligence services that support confident investment decisions in onshore and offshore renewables. Our teams combine local market knowledge with global deep technical expertise to help developers, investors, and lenders move projects to bankability.