energy transition
Associations: Ports not adequately equipped for wind energy expansion
A jack-up ship loaded with components for an offshore wind farm leaves the port of Mukran on the island of Rügen. Associations point out that German ports are not adequately equipped for the expansion of wind energy. Photo: Stefan Sauer/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The new federal government is speeding up the expansion of renewable energies. For example, the expansion of offshore wind power is to be accelerated considerably. But there is still a lot to do.
From the point of view of medium-sized companies and the wind power industry association WAB, the German port locations are not sufficiently prepared for the forthcoming expansion of wind energy at sea.
Their infrastructure must be expanded quickly with a view to the energy transition. “This is the only way port locations and many small and medium-sized companies can benefit from the transformation of the energy system,” says a joint statement by WAB and the Federal Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW).
Both associations ascribe huge opportunities to the energy transition for the medium-sized maritime network economy. “The focus is on the long-term and sustainable expansion of offshore wind energy and its combination with “green” hydrogen.”
From the point of view of the associations, a heavy-duty port infrastructure is needed for loading large quantities of the huge components of wind turbines. The currently largest wind farm planned in the German North Sea with a capacity of 900 megawatts includes 60 wind turbines with 15 megawatts each. “For this offshore wind farm, a corresponding number of foundations, tower parts, nacelles and rotor blades with a length of well over 100 meters must be produced and available.” In addition, the expansion of electrolyser capacity for the production of “green” hydrogen is planned. Dismantling, maintenance and retrofitting of wind farms also require capacities for handling often large and heavy components.
In addition, the ports would have to be expanded into “multifunctional locations” that link value creation on land with the weather-dependent construction sites at sea. “In this way they reduce CO2 and create a functioning circular economy and thus employment by bringing together expansion, dismantling and recycling as well as the associated production systems.” From the point of view of WAB Managing Director Heike Winkler, port and shipyard locations are given “strategic importance in order to combine climate protection with value creation and employment”. According to BVMW Federal Managing Director Markus Jerger, there is currently no port location in Germany that can do this. “Many countries in Europe have already started. Germany must seize this opportunity.”