Page 31: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2022)

PORTS & OFFSHORE WIND

Image courtesy Google Earth offshore wind farm, off Scotland, are being made here, as well as for the 38-turbine Kaskasi wind farm off Germany,

SeaMade off Belgium and the 900MW Greater Changhua project in Taiwan.

Blade storage challenge

Since it was opened, the manufacturing site has churned out 1700 blades, a number which can be a major challenge to handle and store at the Alexandra Dock site. This site has space for 240 blades; so long as nothing else, such as nacelles and towers, are stored on site, says Simon Muirhead, Logistics

Coordinator, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

During Hornsea 2, every last bit of space at the site was torage space is becoming a major challenge used, as well as an overspill storage site, nearly 4km away that’s looming for ports involved in the fast- (adding its own logistical challenges), at King George Dock, evolving offshore wind industry. It’s already be- to allow for 180 blades, 24 nacelles and 100m-tall turbine coming a challenge for Siemens Gamesa Renew- towers to be assembled and stored, he says.

S able Energy at its blade manufacturing facility in But now Siemens Gamesa is spending £186 million on a

Hull, on England’s east coast. Opened only in 2016, the site new manufacturing hall at the site and extending the existing is already having to expand its blade production capability, to hall, adding more than 41,000 sq. m. ? oor space (more than meet demand. But it’s also seeing a point at which it will run doubling the manufacturing total space). As well as increas- out of space to store them, as projects ramp up in 2024. ing production capacity, this will enable the manufacturing of

The site is the largest blade manufacturing facility in the 108m-long blades from 2023. However, the expansion will

UK, producing blades for mega-projects like Hornsea Two, take up a signi? cant amount of the site’s already squeezed which will overtake Hornsea One as the world’s largest off- storage space. With output set to ramp up in 2024, with ex- shore wind farm when it comes online this year. pected storage requirements to reach 500, it’s looking like it

Blades for the 450MW, 54-turbine Neart na Gaoithe will be a squeeze.

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