Vestas consults on turbine factory

Denmark based Vestas unveiled the new turbine in March this year, the port option agreement with Peel Ports, owners of the port of Sheerness, following in May (MJ June 2011).

At 7MW, the V164 will take offshore wind turbine development to a new level, the Crown Estate recognising that larger turbines have the potential for lower infrastructure costs while also acknowledging that if they go offline there is a greater loss of wind production compared to smaller turbines. Vestas has therefore focused on reliability with the 7MW giant, their first ever purpose built offshore turbine, boasting a rotor diameter of 164m.

The scale of UK Round 3 throws up interesting challenges for developers and manufacturers alike, with the government planning for 18GW of offshore wind capacity by 2020 and licences already awarded for up to 32GW, involving wind farms in deeper waters, further offshore that at present. The Vestas business case is based around the northern European market, while also viewing worldwide offshore wind developments as providing potential opportunities for the turbine, perhaps taking the view that if it works in the hostile waters of the North Sea it will attract interest globally.

At the time of the Sheerness announcement, Vestas was at pains to stress that its plans were not cast in stone. It cautioned that its commitment to such major investment, and subsequent job creation, would only make business sense if potential customers for the turbine saw stability in the market, along with long term political and regulatory certainty, the various associated factors all being linked.

Vestas is however, clearly keen that its plans for Sheerness reach fruition, reporting an unprecedented global response from customers, colleagues and competitors to the new turbine. It is now reported to be ‘very confident’ the factory will be built, seeing positive signs that its requirements for government support, sufficient orders and local planning support will be satisfied. A planning application is expected to be submitted by the end of 2011, with production planned for 2015.

For Peel Ports, the land option agreement with Vestas comes as other UK ports experience similar success attracting mainland European and UK turbine manufacturers, along with other associated supply chain component suppliers to this rapidly developing market.

The proposed site at Sheerness includes areas occupied by existing clients and Peel Ports is keen to retain these businesses. Its intention is to utilise the available space to its maximum potential, demolishing some existing buildings and moving others. Talks are to be held with English Heritage about a listed building that will be affected by the plans.

By Peter Barker