Study: Lower Saxony ports need more space for the wind power industry

Increasing the targets for the expansion of wind power at sea and on land entails further infrastructural measures. This is shown by a current preliminary analysis of a study, which came to the conclusion that the seaports of Lower Saxony will soon need more space for the handling of wind power components.

The working group Niedersächsische Seehäfen and Niedersachsen Ports commissioned the study from Deutsche WindGuard GmbH. The first results were presented at this year’s “transport logistic” trade fair in Munich in the presence of Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister, Olaf Lies. Finally, the study on the National Maritime Conference, which will take place in Bremen at the beginning of September, will be presented and included in the national port strategy of the federal government.

Higher demands in the short and long term

According to the preliminary analysis the wind energy industry will “have a significantly higher demand for port areas in the short and long term (…) in order to meet the expansion targets onshore and offshore and to maintain the stock,” explains study leader Dr. Dennis Kruse, Managing Director of Deutsche WindGuard. Factors include high annual growth rates onshore and offshore from as early as 2025, growing dimensions of wind turbine components or the increasing dismantling of older wind turbines. This will initially be done onshore, but will soon also be offshore. The preliminary analysis warns that logistics must not become the bottleneck of these measures. In addition to the additional port areas, quays as well as the port entrances and the hinterland connections are also the subject of further investigations.

Germany should not rely on additional port capacities from European neighbors such as the Netherlands or Denmark, explains Michael de Reese, spokesman for the Lower Saxony seaports working group. It is to be expected that these will also be fully utilized due to their own national expansion targets.

However, the study does not assume a lack of space. According to the preliminary analysis, the area capacities for wind energy in the seaports of Lower Saxony could be doubled in the near future, the required port infrastructure is available. In view of the long planning, approval and implementation periods, however, appropriate steps should be taken in a timely manner. De Reese comments: “The area potential is there. If the expansion targets in wind energy are to be achieved by 2030, the political investment decisions must be made now so that handling areas can also be developed in the short term.”

Support from Economics Minister Lies

Lower Saxony’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Olaf Lies, supports the demand for more space and emphasized the economic importance of the energy transition: “Our ports are already an important part of the wind energy industry’s value chains as the main transshipment base, production port, storage area or service port. This is in addition to the opportunities for new Settlements are an important aspect, because we are not just a transit country, we will benefit significantly from the transformation of our economy and energy supply to climate neutrality through new value creation, especially on our coast.”

By 2030, Germany wants to increase the currently installed capacity from around 8 gigawatts to 30 gigawatts in the North and Baltic Seas. This goal is anchored in the coalition agreement and is legally binding in the amended Wind Offshore Act. There is also an agreement between eight countries bordering the North Sea and Luxembourg, which provides for massive offshore expansion. The expansion targets up to the year 2050 were last increased to 300 gigawatts of installed capacity in April, and 120 gigawatts of installed capacity are to be achieved by 2030.

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