Rotterdam looks to wind market

A site of up to 70 hectares has been created for the new centre using the same hydraulic filling technique used on Maasvlakte 2 in the Prinses Alexiahaven.

“The creation of wind farms at sea is a huge growth market. This requires a specialised port area for the installation and maintenance of the farms, which we would like to provide,” said Allard Castelein, CEO of the port authority.

“This is consistent with our efforts to be the offshore hub of Europe and play a leading role in the energy transition.”

The port authority wants to pursue the growth of Rotterdam’s cluster of businesses in the offshore and maritime sectors.

Its next step will be to reclaim the first 30 hectares and installing a heavy load deep sea quay, initially of 600 metres, with the necessary infrastructure.

The plan is that the first businesses will become operational during the course of 2019. In the future, the centre could potentially be extended by a further 40 hectares and 1,000 metres of quay wall.

For some time, offshore has been a policy focus for the port authority, with wind energy and decommissioning as key areas. Among other things, this has led to the completion of the Pioneering Spirit and the establishment of Sif, which specialises in the production of wind turbine foundations.

With this in mind, it is one of a number of Rotterdam businesses which signed a manifesto last year for the formation of the ‘Rotterdam Offshore Wind Coalition’.