U.K. gets First Offshore Wind Terminal

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - The first dedicated offshore wind turbine terminal in the U.K. or Ireland has been completed in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The €58 million ($76 million) offshore wind terminal has been handed over by Belfast Harbour (Belfast) to Danish energy major, Dong Energy's (Fredericia, Denmark) and ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) (Glasgow, Scotland), in preparation for the U.K.'s largest rollout of offshore windfarms. Windfarms awarded under the government's Round 3 licensing scheme will see up to 25,000-megawatts (MW) of wind energy added to the country's electricity mix. The official hand-over was attended by Northern Ireland's First and deputy First Ministers, Peter Robinson MLA and Martin McGuinness MLA.

One year ago Dong signed a preliminary pact with Northern Ireland's Belfast Harbour to build a new quay that measures 480 meters, a terminal covering five acres and a 50-acre logistics space on the County Down side of the Harbour. Up to three vessels will be able to berth simultaneously with access available around the clock. For additional information, see February 10, 2011, article - Dong Energy Chooses Belfast for Turbine Plant.

The harbour's first task will be to support the development of the West of Duddon Sands windfarm in the Irish Sea, which is being built jointly by ScottishPower Renewables and Dong. The windfarm will have a generating capacity of 389 MW and use 108, 3.6 MW turbines from Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany). Contracts were awarded to a number of players last year and construction is due to kick-off in Q1 this year with commissioning expected in 2014. Belfast Harbour confirmed that it has already received its first shipment of components with the expectation that the first 80-meter tall turbines will leave Belfast sometime this summer for erection at the site.

"Having a bespoke facility at our fingertips will help us plan our offshore construction very effectively and help with our work to lower the cost of offshore wind farms," stated Brent Cheshire, Dong Energy's U.K. Country Chairman. "The site is in an excellent strategic position for us as we have several wind farms under development in the Irish Sea. This is a port that can handle the large number of huge pieces of equipment required."

Len O'Hagan, Belfast Harbour's Chairman, added: "This is a historic development for Belfast which has the potential to usher in a major new industry for Northern Ireland -- a development which is all the more poignant given that this is the Harbour's 400th anniversary year. Over the years the Harbour has helped bring other industries to Belfast such as shipbuilding and aerospace by investing heavily in infrastructure and land reclamation. This is a continuation of that strategy."

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