A year ago, the cities of Pori and Raahe agreed on development cooperation concerning offshore wind hubs and ports. The aim of the cooperation is to ensure the realisation of port investments and investment subsidies.
“This partnership benefits both regions and Finland in a broader sense. We want to ensure that Finland develops competence that is key to taking advantage of the future opportunities of the offshore wind industry,” say Pasi Pitkänen, Development Director of the City of Raahe, and Seppo Vehkaoja, Managing Director of the Port of Raahe.
According to Pitkänen and Vehkaoja, Kvarken is a natural divider that splits the Gulf of Bothnia into two markets, where Raahe is the hub of the Bothnian Bay and Pori is the hub of the Bothnian Sea.
“Both Raahe and Pori can serve projects within a radius of a few hundred kilometres. This enables installation vessels to operate efficiently when picking up components and taking them offshore. As ports, we do not compete for the same customers. Instead, we can support one another. As a pair of ports, we can support each other’s projects, which increases resilience in the operations of both ports,” Vehkaoja says.
The right division of responsibilities is in the national interest
Offshore wind power involves large investments, and it would not be sensible to disperse them across the Gulf of Bothnia — not all ports would have enough business relative to the investments required. Cooperation and an effective division of responsibilities make it easier to secure projects.
There are two major stages in the construction of an offshore wind farm, namely the construction of the foundations and the erection of the wind turbines at the port and their subsequent transport offshore.
“If there are several projects under way at the same time, even a well-equipped port may run out of space for the storage and assembly of the various components of wind turbines. This makes it advantageous to have a highly functional pair of ports that enables the transport of components from one port to the other as necessary.
There are plans for five major offshore wind farms off the coast of Raahe, three on the Swedish side. According to Pitkänen, Raahe is very well-positioned for these projects.
“We are located in close proximity to these offshore wind farms, and we also have a favourable position in other respects. In terms of component deliveries, for example, we have a railway that runs directly to the port, national road 8 and main road 88 intersect in Raahe, and there is an airport 45 minutes away,” Pitkänen notes.
“Some 40 per cent of the onshore wind turbines in Finland have been transported through Raahe. We have a lot of expertise in wind power, and the port area has already been developed for wind power. We know the business, and the operators in the business know us,” Vehkaoja adds.
A high rate of investment
The Port of Raahe recently decided to invest EUR 21 million in a new quay area.
“We have built a new field area for the handling and storage of very heavy components. We also have Finland’s first quay for jack-up vessels under construction,” Vehkaoja points out.
Jack-up vessels carry exceptionally heavy loads that cannot be lifted from the ship when the vessel is floating freely. For this reason, jack-up vessels have support legs that can be lowered onto the seabed. A foundation of crushed rock is prepared on the seabed, on which the vessels can lower their legs.
Similar field areas designed specifically for the handling of heavy components have also been recently built at Mäntyluoto port in Pori. Forward-looking investments are necessary so that offshore wind power projects can move ahead as soon as energy companies make their investment decisions.
Raahe and Pori as enablers
The pair of ports in Pori and Raahe are in a good position when investments get the green light. The role of both regions is to act as an enabler and, for their part, make investments in the development of ports, other infrastructure and expertise.
As regards their expectations for the central government, Pitkänen and Vehkaoja mention the clarification of regulations and recognising the potential of offshore wind projects from the perspective of the national economy. These measures have an impact on the investment decisions of wind farm developers and the industrial plants that require the electricity produced by the wind farms.
“We have talked a lot about how to increase the degree of domestic content of wind power projects. The first major issue, of course, is to bring wind turbine assembly and maintenance operations to Finnish ports. In the absence of a clear playing field, there is a risk that we might lose out to Sweden when it comes to the location of these activities. Another key issue is how to maximise the degree of domestic content in the components required for wind turbines, and the use of Finnish work in installation and maintenance,” Pitkänen explains.
Emphasis on the national interest
For the reasons mentioned above, the cooperation between the two ports also extends to advocacy efforts, creating highly functional subcontracting networks, and cooperation with educational institutions. The aim is to connect national subcontractors to the offshore wind power value chain, and there is a need for new competencies related to maintenance and repairs, which could be taught in higher education institutions and secondary schools in the Pori and Raahe regions.
“The maintenance of offshore wind turbines is a business that will last for several decades. The clean transition is coming, regardless of who the U.S. president is. We have a decades-long transition ahead of us, one that will present a number of major opportunities. That is why we are now building the capabilities to take full advantage of those opportunities. It is very exciting to be part of these types of changes,” Pitkänen and Vehkaoja conclude.