Shipshape project

The Port of Longview entered into its first all-inclusive wind energy contract last year with Siemens Power Generation. The contract involves the off oading of wind towers and turbines for several Northwest wind farms that will be developed in 2007.

In mid March, the vessel BBC India arrived at the port's a Berth 8 dock to deliver turbine components for the Klondike III Wind Farm owned by PPM Energy in Sherman County, OR. Shipments received earlier in the year from Pohang, Korea included the tower sections for the Klondike project.

The BBC India shipment a contained turbine components for 22 of the 44, 2.3 megawatt turbines that will be erected on the Klondike farm. A second shipment was set to deliver the remaining 22 turbines to the port in April.

Turbine components for the Klondike farm were manufactured by Siemens in Denmark and include blades, nacelles, hubs, spinners, power units and containers of assembly hardware. The longest component is the blade, at 148 feet, and the heaviest is the nacelle, at 87 tons.

Off oading and moving the turbine blades across the dock required innovation on the part of the port and Siemens. Based on drawings supplied by Siemens, the Port of Longview custom built a transporter and dolly system for moving the turbines.

“Siemens is excited to be working with the Port of working of Longview,” says Clare Bertel, wind transportation coordinator for Siemens. “We recognize and value professionalism, experience and technical expertise, all present at the Port of Longview, and look forward to a successful partnership.”

In late March, a truckin company hired by Siemens, picked up the towers and turbine components from the port's storage yard and delivered them to the Klondike III Wind Farm construction site. According to Siemens, 15 trucks were needed to transport one complete turbine. The port planned to load towers and turbine components onto trucks at the rate of 15 per day, six days a week.

To accommodate Siemens’ business, as well as other customers’ wind energy cargo, the port secured an additional nine acres of storage yard, made infrastructure improvements and purchased new Hyster forklifts. A Kalmar reach stacker, purchased by the port in 2005, has been used extensively to load tower and turbine components. The port's 2007 capital improvement budget also includes the potential purchase of a new mobile harbor crane.

According to port officials, the increase in wind energy cargo hipments can be attributed to ongressional approval of the roduction Tax Credit (PTC) hrough December 2008. Also, 1937, approved by voters in Washington state, has contributed o increased wind energy cargo hipments through the port. The ew Washington law requires tility companies to obtain 15% f their power from renewable nergy sources by 2020.

The port's contract with Siemens r 2007 also includes tower nd turbine components for the White Creek Wind Project in lickitat County, WA. Th is project onsists of 89, 2.3 megawatt wind urbines. Ships loaded with the owers for this project began riving at the port in April 2007, ith the turbines scheduled to begin delivering in May.