North Carolina's Port of Morehead City recently received its second shipment of wind turbines. The wind turbines were discharged from the M/V PAC Alkaid to three trucks for transport.

The Port of Morehead City’s location, its ability to provide customized service to its customers, partnered with its essential personnel and facilities, including a 45-foot channel draft, make the Port of Morehead City ideally suited to handle this type of cargo.

“From the pre-planning stages through to the same day expediting of our trucks from vessel to terminal loading and dispatch, everything was done without a hitch,” said John Riggs, Vice President Global Logistics, Perkins Specialized International Logistics, transportation logistics coordinator for the wind turbine shipment.

“Wind energy cargo is a target commodity for North Carolina’s Ports,” said Glenn Carlson, Chief Commercial Officer, N.C. State Ports Authority. “The Ports are partnering with the N.C. Department of Commerce and the North Carolina Solar Center, to bring wind energy business to North Carolina. We are looking forward to developing more of these shipments through our Ports as the wind energy trade increases,” Carlson added.

The North Carolina Ports' contribution to the wind energy industry could be substantial. With a 300 megawatt onshore project proposed and the best offshore wind resource of any East Coast state, North Carolina is positioned to play a major role in the growing wind industry. “The state is currently embracing its first onshore wind farm,” said Jen Banks, Wind Energy Project Coordinator at the North Carolina Solar Center, “and our goal is that the state will also have the opportunity to embrace offshore wind development in the coming years.”

The Department of Energy has set a goal of developing 54 gigawatts of offshore wind in the United States by the year 2030. This level of development will likely require a s upply chain of manufacturing facilities located all along the East Coast. The Port of Morehead City is an ideal location for the transport of these components for the offshore wind industry.