b'3.6 The Netherlands ports aretrying to balance traditional energy business and renewables Matt Miller, AJOT Renewables, particularly offshore wind power are big business for the This article was originally published onNovember 25, 2019 in issue #698 ports of the Netherlands. But so are the traditional energy businesses that are mainstays in ports like Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Europes largest. It is a tough balancing act not only for the ports but all the stakeholders. The Port of Rotterdam is Europes larg- Renewables Power New est. It stretches westward some 25 milesBusinessfrom its original 19th century site adja-cent to the old city center. On reclaimedIn August, Sif announced it was sub-land, near that far western tip, past milesstantiallyexpandingitsoperationsin and miles of oil refineries, crackers andthis newest, decade-old area of the port, [image 3.6-1] storage facilities and close to the ports Wind turbine installation at the Sif Groupfirst fully automated terminal, towers theknown as Maasvlakte 2. It has leased a factory at the Port of Rotterdam prototype of the worlds largest offshoretotal of 62 hectares and acts as a terminal wind turbine.operator, handling offshore-wind related logistics, as well as component produc-GE Renewable Energy finished install- tion. Part of the expansion will involve the ing its 12MW Haliade-X turbine mid-Oc- lengthening of the quay by 200 meters.tober.GEhasbeguntoundergostressThewindturbine,whichsoarssome testing on the giant windmill.860 feet high, is also a dramatic indica-Theturbineslocationisbothpracti- torofthedirectionbeingtakenbythe calandsymbolic.ItstandsnexttotheRotterdam Port Authority and other port 500-meters-longSifGroupfactorythatauthorities in the Netherlands. They seek assemblesandmarshalsthecolumns,to support the businesses necessary as en-called monopiles, used in offshore wind.ergy production moves from fossil fuel to On the seaside, Sif operates a 400 metersrenewables. quaycapableofsimultaneouslyreceiv- Offshorewindisthemostvisibleof ing turbine components and dispatchingthese efforts, but not the only one. Solar themtoNorthSeawindparks.Whenand biofuels are also in the mix. And hy-the port was visited recently, jackup ves- drogen is likely to become a major pres-sels were anchored, ready to pick up theence as that fuel source is developed. (A monopiles, and deliver them to the NorthconsortiumledbytheSwedishenergy Sea.52 THE UNCONTAINED www.theuncontained.com'