Offshore wind development is creating new growth at the Port of Bremerhaven and offers a role model for ports to embrace new maritime and economic development, according to a German wind energy consultant. By Stas Margaronis, AJOT Bremerhaven was a depressed port several years ago due to the loss of shipbuilding and shipping, but is now booming because of the growing offshore wind business, according to Elizabeth Jund. Jund, a consultant for Bremerhaven-based Wind:Research, a research company specializing in both onshore and offshore energy projects, is engaged in working with the German port’s stakeholders in developing a strategy for using wind power to bolster the City’s maritime sector. Jund’s poster blueprinting the process was featured at the recent AWEA (American Wind Energy Association) offshore wind conference in Baltimore. The poster provides a “Cliff Notes” style outline for how US ports should think about developing offshore wind facilities. Jund’s advice for ports looking to develop offshore capabilities is as follows: “Ports embarking on such a venture need to consider a budget of about $60 to $400 million because of the infrastructure needs. This is the case of Bremerhaven…the amount depends on the available structures and the goals…can be more or less, assuming a number of factors:
  • 120 to150 acres for lay down area for the foundations and the wind turbines
  • 500 to 700 tons crane capacity to lift foundations and wind turbines on to vessels (but some vessels have such a crane capacity, so then the port does not have to have such infrastructure)
  • 265 ft high buildings to assemble foundations
  • 500 ton pavement capacity for lay-down areas.
The Port of Bremerhaven’s local political leaders, like Jens Eckhoff, president of the German Offshore Foundation, who addressed the AWEA offshore wind conference, have played an important role in bringing political and business leaders together in support of offshore wind initiatives. This, in turn, helped develop the Wind Energy Agency in Bremerhaven. The Wind Energy Agency is an association of builders, politicians, consultants and researchers who helped bring the resources - including recruitment and lobbying - to transform Bremerhaven and North Western Germany into an offshore wind port and an economic hub for offshore wind energy. The Bremerhaven Economic Development Company Ltd. is the key contact for all companies in the city and outlines the mission of developing Bremerhaven’s port and maritime assets: “Inspired by Bremerhaven’s maritime roots…Given that Bremerhaven is now one of the most important container ports on the European continent, attention is focused first and foremost on logistics, distribution and new maritime technologies such as offshore wind turbine construction…the goal and the responsibility of the Bremerhaven Investment Support and Urban Development Company is to nurture Bremerhaven’s economy and shape its future structure.” As a result, the local and federal government authorities are offering major financing to develop Bremerhaven as an offshore wind center: “Providing support for entrepreneurial initiative is one of the most important business development tasks in Bremerhaven. In addition to good infrastructural conditions at attractive sites, we also provide financial support for promising inward investment projects in Bremerhaven.” The Bremerhaven Economic Development Company, on its website, describes the types of support companies can expect: including financial, investment start-up, innovation, and sales support. Challenge From Asia Jund points out that Asian and especially Chinese and Korean manufacturers could flood the market with higher end turbines and impede the capacity for Europeans - and by extension Americans - to compete in the wind turbine business. There is also concern that China, Korea and Japan will be able to fund a wind farm boom because of superior resources and less restrictions on mass-subsidization that is needed t