"The Port is pleased to assist with the logistical needs of Halus Power Systems," stated Port
Maritime Director Peter Dailey. "It is good to see a company like Halus providing renewable energy manufacturing jobs right here in the San Francisco Bay Area."
The wind turbines will be remanufactured at Halus Power Systems' San Leandro plant near Oakland. One has already been sold to the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Ohio; another will be installed at a farm near Ellensburg, Washington. Company founder and general director Louis Rigaud indicates the 0.5-megawatt windmills were considered state-of-the-art and the largest in the world in the mid-1990s. "Today the standard is 2-3 megawatt wind turbines at the large industrial windfarms. The older models are being cleared out of windfarms in Germany and Denmark to make way for the newer models, but the older models are still more than adequate for smaller-scale users such as businesses and large farms." Halus employs a staff of ten and recently relocated to a larger San Leandro plant after outgrowing their nearby Hayward facility.
Pier 80, operated by Metro Ports, is a 70-acre facility that includes over nine acres of covered storage. The Port of San Francisco's Pier 80 is the only marine terminal in Northern California able to handle containers, breakbulk and heavy lift cargoes simultaneously. In addition to the Halus Power Systems cargoes, the Star Hansa also discharged sheet pile and other steel products.