Cuxhaven Boosts Offshore Wind Facilities

A new berthing space and ramp have been inaugurated at Germany's Cuxhaven port. 

Lower Saxony’s Minister for the Economy, Labour and Transport Olaf Lies led the ceremony at Cuxhaven’s offshore terminal. The port now offers 1,340 meters (4,400 feet)  of berthing space at the terminal with water depths of up to 11.6 meters (38 feet). The new ramp, with a dimension of 115 x 55 meters (377 x 180 feet), will allow for the heavy loads to be loaded directly onto RoRo ships.

The $11 million expansion of the port’s offshore terminal was undertaken after Siemens established a wind turbine factory in Cuxhaven.

The new facilties will be utilized for the transportation and load-out of 20 jacket foundations for Dong Energy’s Borkum Riffgrund 2 wind farm. The first jackets are expected to arrive from Poland, in October, and the project is expected to be completed by March 2018.

Earlier this year, Siemens Gamesa and Dong Energy signed an agreement for the supply of 94 8MW turbines (752 MW) at the Borssele 1 and 2 offshore wind power plant being developed in Dutch waters. The nacelles will be assembled in Siemens Gamesa factory in Cuxhaven.