b'6American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comWind energy components dominate Texas port project cargoBy Tad Thompson, AJOT Texasseaportsenjoyacountries have shipped wind variety of project cargo. Thats ainputs in the past. broadindustrycategory.AlongCampirano said the blades Texas Gulf Coast, though, therepassing through Brownsville are a couple dominant trades. aretruckedacrosstheRio Components for commer- GrandefromanearbyMat-cial wind turbines is the larg- amoros manufacturing plant, estprojectcargoforportsintheGerman-ownedNordex Brownsville and Galveston.Acciona.Recently,manyof AtthePortofBrowns- thesepassthroughBrowns-ville, the largest single projectvilleforintrastateconstruc-cargo category is componentstion in a nearby south Texas for commercial wind turbines,wind farm, which is erecting according to Eduardo Campi- 75 high towers.rano, CEO and port director.RodgerRees,Galvestonb roWnsviLLer aiLWharvesportdirectorandC onneCtionCEO, indicates that in 2021,Brownsville has rail infra-thePortofGalvestonseta(DOMINATEcontinued record for wind turbine cargo,on page 15) Port of Galveston set a record for wind turbine cargo, importing 3,172 turbine pieces with a total weight of 212,000 tons. importing 3,172 turbine pieces with a total weight of 212,000 tons. As a result, wind project cargo is a top revenue and jobs generator at the port.Project cargo, particularly wind turbine components, makes upalargeshareofthePort ofGalvestonscargobusi-nessandrelatedjobs,Rees said.Wevebeenmoving wind turbine parts through our port for more than a decade. Asthissustainableenergy industry has grown, so has the amount of wind turbine cargo we move.Thehugewhiteblades whichcanbeaslongas260 feetare the most conspicu-ous feature of the business. But Campiranoindicatesthatall pieces of the massive structures pass through Brownsville. This involvestowerandconesec-tions, which also are no small feat for logistics planning.Rees said, Although wind cargomovesthroughseveral portsontheGulfCoast,the Port of Galveston is consid-ered a primary point of entry forwindcomponentsfrom Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia due to its prime location, transportationinfrastructure and experienced labor.Withrecentpassageof federallegislationrenew-ing tax credits for wind tur-bineprojects,windcargo importsareexpectedto remain strong, according to the Galveston CEO. Galveston handles wind turbine components from sev-eralmajormanufacturers, includingGeneralElectric, Siemens-Gamesa,Acciona-Nordex and Vestas. Rees said no special infra-structureisneededforthis cargo.Thecomponentsare transferred from the vessel by ship cranes and shore cranes directly to truck trailers and rail cars. ForBrownsville,these components are imported from a variety of countries, which recently have included India, South Korea and Spain. Other'