The port is already recognized as a suitable place for servicing offshore wind farms

The main conclusions of the researchers are two: the port of Ventspils can already offer adequate services to the developers of offshore wind farms, and for the meaningful use of all the potential in the port of Ventspils, it is necessary to build an efficient terminal in the area of ​​the Northern Pier in terms of costs and use.

Ventspils Freeport Deputy Manager Igors Udodov: “To achieve the goals of energy independence and climate neutrality, renewable energy projects are developing in the Baltic Sea region, which is not only a turning point in energy, but also changes the way ports can make their contribution to the overall process of maintaining and developing the economy. If for more than a century the port of Ventspils served mainly as a transit point for the provision of fossil energy, now it can be transformed into an energy port in a much wider scope, in parallel with the existing directions of operation – here we are talking about renewable energy, the hydrogen economy, as well as the export of Latvian products. We have chosen to follow this development path gradually, starting with the evaluation of existing opportunities and potential. Thanks to joint work with the internationally experienced company in this field, Witteveen+Bos, we currently have a plan, rationale and calculations ready for offshore wind farms to receive the best possible service in Ventspils.”

A land-based technical maintenance base is needed to service offshore wind farms – potentially the port of Ventspils is located in the most advantageous and closest location to the planned wind farms and could provide services related to the servicing of offshore wind farms. At the beginning of 2023, the Ventspils Freeport Authority, engaging the Dutch engineering consulting company Witteveen+Bos, started work on the study: “Evaluation of the possibilities of Ventspils port for servicing offshore wind farms and related infrastructure”.

The initial goal of the study was to evaluate the existing infrastructure and its possibilities and to model the creation of a new terminal in the North Port, which is a large, developmentable area of ​​the port in the northern direction. would be even more attractive both for the development of the ideas of private investors and for the meaningful use of public infrastructure. Namely, the experts offered to rebuild the existing pier 35 in the North pier, by washing up a new port area of ​​approximately 50 hectares, providing space for both wind farm servicing and construction production. A technical solution has been developed, wave impact modeling and other preparatory work has been carried out to ensure the validity of the development plan from the point of view of efficiency, cost and safety.

Technical manager of the Witteveen+Bos expert team, Kristians Lubërs: “Witteveen+Bos studied the possible offer of Ventspils port for developers of offshore wind farms. The assessment included a study of best practices for the development and maintenance of offshore wind farms in European ports and the determination of functional requirements for terminals. Based on these requirements, existing port terminals were evaluated to determine their suitability for the needs of offshore wind farm developers. At the same time, expansion options to the north of the existing jetty were explored, including the creation of new jetties, grounds and terminals.”

Oskars Zivtiņš, head of SIA Witteveen+Bos Latvia: “Evaluating the compliance of the port of Ventspils with the functional requirements, which are set in other European ports for the construction and servicing of offshore wind farm projects, the experts of the company Witteveen+Bos concluded that the port of Ventspils would already be ready to offer its services for offshore wind today park developers. It is possible to develop new terminals in the North Port, dividing their development into logical and investment-based phases. And a rather important circumstance is that the port of Ventspils has an advantageous geographical location in relation to the construction sites for offshore wind farms planned in the region.”

The Ventspils Freeport Authority is currently actively working with potential investors who might be interested in cooperating in the creation of a new terminal. The project concept, which was created as a result of the study “Evaluation of Ventspils port possibilities for servicing offshore wind farms and related infrastructure” carried out by SIA “Witteveen+Bos Latvia”, will be forwarded for approval in the municipality of Ventspils state city to the responsible institutions of the Latvian state.

Ventspils is one of the largest ports on the east coast of the Baltic and the third largest industrial center in Latvia. In the past years, Ventspils Freeport has started active work in the direction of new development projects in order to transform the traditional operation of the port from fossil energy transit to renewable energy project service, green fuel storage and transport services, food and Latvian production export node. Ventspils is the only port in Latvia that has already concluded a long-term building rights agreement for the construction of a hydrogen plant, and the merchant has started the environmental impact assessment process.