Port Expansion

The New Era of the Green Transition in Port Esbjerg

Port Esbjerg is one of Europe’s epicenters of offshore wind. To date, 59 offshore wind projects have been supported by Port Esbjerg. The project detailed as ‘The Next Era of the Green Transition’ will enhance the capacity for the installation of offshore wind farms in Europe. This investment is currently underwritten by a backlog of projects. To cater for this situation, the storage areas must be enlarged, and the number of pre-assembly and installation sites must be increased. At the same time, quay reinforcements are required for the next generation of offshore wind turbines, ensuring access for the turbine installation vessels currently under construction or being planned.

However, this investment in Port Esbjerg has multiple purposes besides offshore wind farm installation, as it also allows for the expansion of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). The position of Port Esbjerg depicts an effective node in the logistics network for both short-sea and deep-sea shipping. To expand the network with deep-sea routes, the port infrastructure must cater for larger vessels. These larger vessels also require a deeper entrance to the Port, and there is a need to build new terminals and improve the rail connection. Enhancing the connectivity for modular goods serves civil and military purposes by improving the connectivity to Denmark’s largest export markets.

Port Esbjerg is also an integral part of the Host Nation Support rendered by Denmark to NATO, which portrays the importance of the Sea Port of Debarkation. In practice, both the civil and the military use is the capability to receive the largest Roll-on/Roll-off vessels and the capacity to store goods and swiftly move them to their destination.

Commensurate, the port development serves the green transition in Europe by preparing Port Esbjerg for the surge in offshore wind while also serving a current need to improve the Sea Port of Debarkation, increase the modular goods and improve the TEN-T network to the benefit of Europe.

In sum, the New Era of the Green Transition in Port Esbjerg comprises dredging of the channel to the port and port areas, port expansion, quay wall extensions and reinforcement, and the greenification of operations, which in total requires an investment of more than 200 mill Euro. Lending is provided by the European Investment Bank.