ABP Wins Hornsea One Blade Storage Contract

Siemens Gamesa has contracted Associated British Ports (ABP) to provide storage for 37 of its wind turbine blades destined for the Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm.

Under the 12-month contract, ABP is leasing a six-acre storage site located at the Port of Hull’s Eastern Access on King George Dock for the 75m long, 30t blades.

An operation is said to be currently underway to transport the fiberglass blades nearly two miles from the current site on Alexandra Dock.

The process includes a remote-controlled loader being guided by an operator to transport the blades through the port to its new location at 5mph.

Each blade takes circa 1 hour and 15 minutes to move during the early hours of the morning to cause minimal disruption to port traffic, ABP said.

“Siemens Gamesa is delighted to again be working with ABP, continuing a ground-breaking partnership in Humberside,” said Anton Bak, Factory Director at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Hull.

“To deliver clean, green energy to millions of UK households is a complex team effort, and ABP is a crucial member of that team.”

Hornsea Project One will comprise 174 Siemens Gamesa 7MW turbines, three offshore substations and a Reactive Compensation Station (RCS).

The 1.2GW offshore wind farm is expected to begin producing power in 2020 some 120km off the coast of Yorkshire, UK.