New Energy Port for Averijhaven will boost sustainable credentials
Port of Amsterdam has released a statement to announce that the dredge sludge depot at the former Averijhaven near IJmuiden will soon be developed into an Energy Port.
It said: “A partnership covenant for the new facility was signed today by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Province of North Holland, the Municipality of Velsen, Tata Steel, IJmuiden Seaport and Port of Amsterdam.”
It said the development of this new port is “crucial for realising wind farms in the North Sea”. Many more wind farms will be constructed in the coming years in the North Sea, and the Energy Port forms an essential operational base for their construction and operational maintenance.
The new Energy Port will, for example, provide support for building the wind farms Hollandse Kust West and IJmuiden Ver off the Dutch coast. The Energy Port also has an important role in realising the more intensive use of space and reinforcement of the regional port infrastructure, as planned.
The Energy Port is located on the sea side of the North Sea Canal, near the IJmuiden lock complex. The statement said the new industrial estate “offers great possibilities for meeting the needs of the energy transition, and advancing important regional and national climate change goals.”
By making an industrial estate of five hectares available, it said Tata Steel has shown its support for this future-looking initiative that’s so important for the region. What’s more, Tata Steel is allowing land access to the Energy Port through its site in Velsen North. This will enable the movement of personnel and access for emergency services.
Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, Minster of Infrastructure and Water Management, said: “The large-scale construction and operational maintenance of sustainable wind turbine farms in the North Sea demand a much greater port capacity. Our collaborative development of the Averijhaven into a modern energy port means that offshore businesses will have all the space they need in the future.”
The Energy Port will have an area of over 15 hectares. Both the existing acreage of the Averijhaven as well as the adjacent Tata Steel site of 5 hectares will be used to create a public port area for offshore wind. In the port area a quay will be installed of 580 metres – 200 metres as heavy-duty facility with 12.5 metre water depth, and 380 metres standard facility with 10 metre water depth. The location of this port means that it will play an important role in the efficient installation and operational maintenance of wind farms and save on costs.
For more information visit www.portofamsterdam.com
27th April 2020
