Got a question?
Karin Rix Holländer
Executive Assistant MA
We have said it before. There is a lot of activity at Port Esbjerg on account of the growth in the offshore wind industry. We are halfway through the Vesterhav Syd project and there is a hum of construction going on quayside, a great deal of it related to the wind industry. But we won’t forget our heritage. Fisheries remain a part of our DNA, and our international visitors want to know more about that.
By Jesper Bank, CCO at Port Esbjerg
Last week we reached a milestone in the Vesterhav Syd wind farm. We are now at the halfway point.
With its twenty wind turbines and a total output of 170 MW, Vesterhav Syd will be able to supply enough power to cover the annual consumption of 170,000 Danish households.
It is inspiring to see how innovation and collaboration propel us towards a greener and more sustainable future. And we will never tire witnessing the ongoing projects to increase our offshore wind power capacity.
The construction of our new wind project facility, which is nearing completion, is just one example. At 35 metres tall and 85 metres long, the building will be among the largest of such facilities in the world.
The wind turbines and the huge turbine installation vessels take up a lot of ocean and quayside space. Compared to a fishing vessel, a wind turbine is a gigantic structure, but that is not to say that the fishing vessels and the fishermen are not on our minds.
At Port Esbjerg, we are fully aware of our heritage. Fisheries have been a part of our DNA for more than 150 years, and although it is a long time since we were Denmark’s largest fishing port, the fishermen still mean a lot to us. We want to maintain regular and close dialogue with the fishermen and greatly respect their involvement.
A couple of weeks ago, we were delighted to offer the fishermen new and improved facilities with the opening of the new Fishermen’s House, where fishermen, seamen and other groups can meet. The facilities include day rooms, a conference room, fish cleaning tables and other amenities.
The relationship we have with the fishermen and the local community is not only in our own interest. We currently receive many visitors from countries like Japan, Vietnam and Korea, where relations with the local community play a crucial role, and these countries also have strong fishing traditions. Therefore, they would like to hear about our experiences, which we willingly share when we show them around the port.
Our port is very busy, and it would seem that this trend is unlikely to lose momentum any time soon.
On completion of the Vesterhav Syd wind farm, we will start on the Vesterhav Nord project and another project in the German part of the North Sea. In other words, there is every indication of sustained strong growth for offshore wind power at Port Esbjerg, while the fishing vessels also continue to operate at the port.
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