Dong Energy Chooses Belfast for Turbine Plant

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Northern Ireland's Belfast is angling to become a major European supplier of offshore wind turbines, following a preliminary pact signed between energy giant Dong Energy A/S (Fredericia, Denmark) and Belfast Harbour (Belfast).

The companies have signed a memorandum of understating that could see Dong establishing a manufacturing facility capable of producing thousands of wind turbines. The move comes as rival turbine-makers line up potential turbine manufacturing sites in the U.K. for the expected "offshore wind gold rush" during the coming decade. The U.K. government has plans to add more than 25 giawatts (GW) of offshore power as part of its Round 3 contracts, which are estimated to be worth more than 117 billion euros ($154 billion) in the coming years. About one-quarter of those projects are within 150 nautical miles of Belfast.

As part of the deal, Belfast Harbour will fund and build a new, 47 million-euro ($62 million) quay that will measure 450 metres, alongside a 50-acre logistics space on the County Down side of the Harbour. If the deal reaches the final stages, which is dependent on Dong and its partners raising the financing needed for some of its planned offshore windfarms, the company will use the new facilities to pre-assemble the turbines and their foundations.

The Crown Estate, which manages the U.K.'s seabed, already has awarded Dong permission to build the 500-megawatt (MW) West of Duddon Sands offshore windfarm with ScottishPower Renewables (Glasgow, Scotland), and has awarded extensions to the existing Burbo Bank and Walney offshore windfarms in the Irish Sea.

"The United Kingdom has a very ambitious plan for expanding the production of renewable energy" said Peter Gedbjerg, Dong Energy Vice President and U.K. Country Manager for Power. "The possibility of a tailor-made facility to make the installation of offshore wind turbines even more efficient fits perfectly with Dong Energy's goal of bringing down the construction cost of renewable energy."

Len O'Hagan, Belfast Harbour's Chairman, added: "This initiative, which the Harbour has been pursuing for well over a year, has the potential to kick-start Belfast's aspirations to become a leading player in the new green economy. Belfast Harbour has a long track record of investing in new infrastructure, such as the dry docks and quays which helped make Belfast the 'shipbuilder to the world' or the aerodrome which laid the basis for Belfast's aviation industry. In addition to turbine assembly operations, there also may be opportunities to attract turbine manufacturers to Northern Ireland, helping to lay the basis of a Marine Energy Park that would create significant numbers of new high-value-add jobs and inward investment."

Last month, German engineering giant Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) announced that it had selected the Port of Hull in England as the proposed site for its offshore turbine manufacturing and export facility. For additional information, see January 24, 2011, article - Siemens Chooses Port of Hull for Wind Turbine Plant.

Industrial Info's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage on the wind energy, geothermal, hydroelectric, landfill gas-to-energy and utility-scale solar power plants throughout North America, and is now expanding coverage across the world.

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