Excitement mounts at potential of proposed wind energy hub in Grimsby
THE multi-million pound proposal that brings Grimsby's Royal Dock further into focus for the burgeoning offshore wind industry has been greeted with excitement in the sector.
And for one of the town's early pioneers, today's headlines are hugely satisfying, with all involved keen to see the vision become a reality, with contracts signed and firm commitments made in the weeks and months to come.
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John Fitzgerald , Associated British Ports’ port director for Grimsby and Immingham, stands on a bridge that could soon make way for a new harbour entrance to support the offshore wind farm industry within Royal Dock.
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An indicative drawing of the proposed Royal Dock Harbour Port Of Grimsby, a project being worked up by Associated British Ports in liaison with Dong Energy.
As Danish Consul for South Humber and Lincolnshire, Kurt Christensen flies the flag for Denmark and Britain with equal measure, from his office at the stone's throw from the Royal Dock itself, where he has brought in several project vessels.
With a strong background in fish, he is now at the forefront of the wind sector, with a fleet of crew transfer catamarans, and a strong agency arm looking after the boats used to build the turbines.
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The recent recipient of a first class knighthood from his native country, state-owned Dong Energy is a company he is familiar with.
Mr Christensen, managing director of Windpower Support, said: "This plan we have got here has real potential. Any plans that Dong has for future investment in offshore wind are going to be of benefit. The fact they appear to have chosen Grimsby is great, it really is brilliant.
"The Fish Docks has developed at pace. This is establishing Grimsby firmly as an operations and maintenance centre, and the one thing I really do like, is that Dong is looking to use this for both construction of the wind farm and the maintenance of it.
"When you get involved with the construction you get so many people coming in and out of the town, it is really good, a real shot in the arm. Make no mistake, Grimsby will have been in competition with a lot of other East Coast ports. People are realising what I have said for a long time. The sheer work ethic that exists in people in Grimsby, in the locality, the can-do attitude is helping to attract these people. You cannot take the strategic element out of it – geographically it is as good as it gets – but there are other areas that could be of interest. We have shown what we can do, first with Centrica and others following."
9 Comments
by voxpax
Friday, March 01 2013, 9:50AM
“This morning ( 01 March 2013 ) the whole of the measured UK wind array was producing in the order of 977MWe. There are in the order of 4 158 wind turbines installed. At some point this morning the production of the generators came out at around 25kWe each. Obviously some generators were doing more than this, whilst others would be idle. The burden on UK consumers to transport, install, and operate such abysmally poor performing generators is a scandal of the highest order. We are spoon fed ridiculous claims of large capacity machines of several MWe ratings, but rarely do these machines come close. Imagine Drax producing a few score MWe from it's rated near 4·0GWe plant. The plant could not operate either commercially or be politically viable at such abysmal low output, it would be a scandalous situation forcing shutdown. For days on end (once again) we have been under a stable anti-cyclone affecting all of the UK wind array, disproving those who say the wind will always blow somewhere!
Elsewhere the politically unsustainable claims of increasing fuel poverty are increasing.”
by Jasbee
Thursday, February 28 2013, 2:36AM
“This is the fourth attempt. If this does not go then I go.
I have just checked the wind sped in GY. It is 16km/hr. That means all the power is coming from coal. The coal fuelled generators are always up & on line. I see a Dane is involved. Send him home to Denmark Where they have the most expensive electricity in Europe courtesy of wind. Having failed at home. They are over here.We need neither them or wind. Wind is a bust,”
by Stu_B
Tuesday, February 26 2013, 9:10PM
“Sorry Seamus, no chance, asking questions is classed as investigative journalism something
this type of newspaper tends to avoid. All they tend to do is preach what they're told.”
by Seamus-McTav
Tuesday, February 26 2013, 3:20PM
“To the powers that be within this paper....why are you not heeding your readership...why are you not commenting on the links provided which clearly show the folly of wind, why do you never seem to pick up on the true feelings of your readers.
You have become nothing more than the mouthpiece of Local Government and big money....what about us, the populace of this area, do we have no rights to think other than how our Masters" wish.
Give us some credit and start representing the people who you target with your circulation, no more propaganda please.”
by EducatedSage
Tuesday, February 26 2013, 3:01PM
“For the more pragmatic amongst us, it is dispair not excitement, that is currently being experienced in relation to wind power.
This form of energy generation is not only unreliable and relatively small scale but also expensive. Ultimately, it is a "short term fix" for a long term UK problem. Proper planning of the UK's future energy needs should have been addressed by central government, a generation ago.
If wind generation it is so good, why is it that Germany has realised what an expensive folly it really is. Perhaps Siemens (a German company) desire to construct a turbine production site in the UK is a reaction to this.
Who will be the beneficiaries? Vested interests, parasites and to a much lesser extent, local communities and employment.
Who will pay for this folly? As always dear reader, the taxpayer of course!!!!!”
by Stu_B
Tuesday, February 26 2013, 12:03PM
“""By 10 years of age the contribution of an average UK wind farm to
meeting electricity demand has declined by a third. "
"This decline in performance means that it is rarely economic to operate
wind farms for more than 12 to 15 years. After this period they must be
replaced with new machines, a finding that has profound consequences for
investors and government alike."
http://tinyurl.com/cxd43u5
Sustainable ? If its true investors will start dropping this faster than a hot potato just like
Al Gore
http://tinyurl.com/bpmo3wg
then what of the future for the much vaunted Wind Turbine factories ?”
by ecol1
Tuesday, February 26 2013, 11:40AM
“Germany,s Answer to this Scam..
http://tinyurl.com/cr9oqxp”
by Seamus-McTav
Tuesday, February 26 2013, 11:28AM
“we are wasting our time Stu....money talks....I'll wager there is some behind the scenes dealings we will never know about that is making some people very wealthy.
Only yesterday, the Governments Green Minister who was driving forward proposed measures was exposed to be on the board of companies that would benefit.
http://tinyurl.com/c229mby”
by Stu_B
Tuesday, February 26 2013, 10:11AM
“Let's not forget who is paying for this and where all the moneys going !
http://tinyurl.com/ct48ul3”