Offshore Wind and Project - Autoridad Portuaria de A Coruña

Since the Outer Port was commissioned, it has been handling large-scale project cargo operations with optimum operability, demonstrating the potential of the new port infrastructure for taking on unusual logistical operations that require large areas of land for the storage and handling of special and oversized loads. The Punta Langosteira Outer Port therefore has an advantageous competitive position and operators with have great experience in moving this type of cargo and modern and efficient handling equipment.

Onloading big metal structures here that were manufactured on the Sabón industrial estate, close to the dock of the outer port, makes stowage and export easier and lessens the problems arising from the need to apply for special road transport permits for moving large loads. In addition, the deep, sheltered waters of Punta Langosteira have permitted the manufacture in them of concrete caissons, both for the expansion of the port of Aberdeen and for an airport in the Philippines. In these successful logistical operations, the caissons were loaded onto semi-submersible platforms, like the Boka Vanguard and Blue Marlin for transport to their final installation destination.

Also, the availability of large areas on land in the port public domain and the deep water of the access channel, with up to 22 metres at the dock, are the main competitive advantages of the outer port of A Coruña, a strategic hub for offshore wind power. Its facilities provide unique conditions for industries and projects related with renewable energies and support for developing offshore wind power, which is being implemented in Northern Europe and requires ports with the capacity to accommodate the manufacture of components and parts for wind turbines.

The bids for concessions to implement important offshore wind power-related industrial projects and developments are being analysed by the Port Authority and will lead to the creation of hundreds of qualified jobs in an internationally significant market.

The location of an experimental wind farm only 10 kilometres from the outer port of A Coruña, set to be the first experimental offshore wind test platform in Galicia, will make it possible to continue making progress on and promoting clean energies, since it will allow for testing floating prototypes and studies of the marine environment.