German logistics companies profiting with offshore wind take-off

Offshore wind farms can prove difficult to get to an end product. There are obstacles all the way from conception to operation and especially in the construction phase, which is turning into a profitable exercise for logistics companies, who help move the gigantic equipment and parts down river and out to sea.

It is amazing in some ways that the wind energy industry is prospering at all, yet 10,000MW of capacity is expected to be installed by 2020.Most recent figures put the total current capacity at 200MW.

So a huge expansion in the construction of wind farms is necessary and companies are expecting a ‘sweet spot’ or peak in installations around 2015/16. Offshore wind is seeing the brunt of this expansion due to the more reliable conditions at the coast.

For logistics and transport companies, the expansion is a potential gold mine. BLG hopes to make around $20 million this year, with growth to anywhere between $50- 100million by 2016. One of the key procedures involves moving pieces of metal up to 950 tonnes out to sea and into position.

Onshore wind, whilst not as efficient as offshore, is receiving a facelift in Germany too; many first generation turbines with low efficiencies and poor grid integration are being ‘repowered’ with new modern turbines.

Germany is not the only country with big expansion plans however. Siemens is investing £80million to build a wind turbine plant in Hull in the UK. Danish wind power is also seeking expansion, to meet the country’s ambitious emissions reduction plans.