b'3.7 Port of Flevokust Haven built to serve the wind Matt Miller, AJOT Flevokust Haven, the Netherlands newestConcurrent with the port, the government This article was originally published on November 25, 2019 in issue #698 port, is a mere speck of land compared to itsis also developing a 160 hectares industrial enormouscounterpartsin Amsterdamandarea. This includes a 30-hectares solar park.Rotterdam. However, this inland port on the countrys largest lake is as aggressively pur- When planning the port, provincial offi-suing renewable energy-related business ascials had windmills in mind. The area around are the bigger ports. Flevokust in Flevoland province now hosts upwards of 800 onshore wind turbines. That We are dependent on the windmill in- has created an aesthetic concern. dustry, said Rogier Wilms, Flevokusts pro-gram manager. Therearesomanywindmills.Itsba-sicallydisturbingthelandscape,Wilms In October, the port signed a contract withsaid.Andastheindustryhasdeveloped, a yet unnamed offshore wind developer tothe turbines have grown larger and larger. lease 2.5 hectares for storage and assembly.The region wants to take advantage of that. The contract will last until the end of 2021. We want less windmills, but bigger ones, Wilms said.Other developers are also interested, ac-cording to Wilms. We have more demandThistransitionwilltakemaybeseven than we can provide, he said.years, with many more after to maintain the turbines, he said.Flevokustopenedforbusinessjustone year back with a private container terminalAt the same time, offshore wind genera-on half the ports initial five hectares area.tion is coming to IJsselmeer, with three wind TheFlevolandprovincialauthoritiescon- parksonthedrawingboard.And,Wilms structed the port on land reclaimed from theadded,Flevokustcouldbecomeastaging IJsselmeer. This large fresh water lake is ac- port for wind parks in the North Sea itself if tually an inland bay, cut off from the Northand when existing locks linking IJsselmeer to Sea by a dyke constructed almost a centu- the ocean are strengthened and expanded, a ry back. The new port offers a 400 metersproject now in its beginning stages. This will quayside. allow short-sea vessels to dock at the port.Flevokustisabout37milesfromAm- Road access to the port is a critical as-sterdamport.Itsthelastlinkinaseriespect of the design, Wilms said, since wind ofinlandportsbuilttosupportthecoun- turbinecomponentsmustbetransported [image 3.7] trysextensivetransportandlogisticssys- overland. The port developers made sure the Aerial view of Port of Flevokust tem. Its also just down the road from theheavy transport trucks could carry the blades LelystadAirport,whichisbeingexpand- without removing poles or traffic signs. The edtoserveasatwintoSchipholAir- provincesrelativelystraightroadshelp. port,ifitcanovercomelocalopposition.Weve already laid out the infrastructure so that the transport of all these big parts is very easy, he said.56 THE UNCONTAINED www.theuncontained.com'