BOTTLENECKS CHALLENGE WIND AMBITIONS

Sif Group’s decision to press ahead with the construction of the world’s largest monopile foundation manufacturing plant in the Netherlands will have been cheered by Europe’s wind energy sector, which faces a growing litany of supply chain challenges that threaten to derail onshore and offshore development.

The Dutch offshore foundation maker announced in February it had taken a final investment decision on the €328 million plant — an expansion of its existing Maasvlakte II complex at the Port of Rotterdam. Work on the project was scheduled to start in April, with first production in the second half of 2024. The facility

Wednesday 07 June 14:20 - 15:05

Thursday 08 June 12:00 - 12:30

Region: Europe

Problem: A looming transportation supply crunch will hamper Europe’s wind projects

Solution: Carriers need to invest in solutions today to avoid a blockage in the second half of the decade will have capacity to produce some 200 monopile foundations per year, increasing the current industry’s production by 80 percent.

“Sif is one of the few companies that support the market with those foundations, so they are crucial for the development of offshore wind,” said Danny Levenswaard, director of breakbulk at the Port of Rotterdam Authority. “Sif fits in perfectly with Rotterdam’s ambition to build up the sustainable side of business. It brings a lot of heavy-lift and project cargo to the port as well.”

According to Sif, monopiles are the most commonly used type of foundation for offshore wind turbines as they offer the best value for money. The foundations made by Sif measure up to 105 meters in length, 11 meters in diameter and weigh about 1,800 tonnes, and can be used in water depths of up to 60 meters.

But Guy Willems, strategic communications advisor at WindEurope, an industry group representing about 500 mostly European companies including OEMs, developers, electricity firms and component manufacturers, said the Maasvlakte II plant alone would be insufficient to meet soaring demand from offshore wind developers in Europe.

“Right now, the whole European industry has a capacity to produce 250 to 300 units per year, and major bottlenecks are starting to form because of that. Europe’s offshore foundation manufacturers are basically fully booked for the next three years,” Willems said. “So, you can imagine this new plant provides quite a significant increase in production. But by 2030 we will need 1,200 bottom-fixed foundations annually and 600 to 700 floating ones. The European industry will need much more expansion in the coming years.”

Monopiles are not the only component under threat of bottlenecks in Europe — other production facilities also need to scale up to meet the EU and its member states’ green energy