Getting ready for an energetic future

In 2007 Groningen Seaports started with the expansion of and changes in the Eemshaven, planning on profiling the harbour as an energy port in which oil and gas and renewable energy go hand in hand. With the arrival of the Gemini wind farm, the future in offshore wind seems bright, but big changes mean more responsibility, due to the neighbouring environment.

The Eemshaven was opened on 7 June 1973 by Queen Juliana and in 1976 the first company, AG Ems, settled in the harbour. The former design of the harbour contained mooring spaces for vessels up to 40,000 tonnes. However, activities in the port of Groningen stagnated, due to the oil crisis that was going on since ’73. Nowadays, activities in the harbour are expanding again with main focus on energy.

Harm Post, CEO of Groningen Seaports, says: “Around2007 we startedlookingfora newfocus for the Eemshaven, so we began to develop the harbour as an energy harbour. The construction of two large power stations from Nuon and Essent plays a big part in this rebranding, as does the arrival of several wind farms close by, the strategic location for the storage and handling of oil and gas, and the fact that the converter stations with Norway and Denmark are located here as well as several data hotels.” Eventually, one third of the Dutch energy production will come from the Eemshaven.

Offshore wind farms One of the most important growth factors of the Eemshaven is going to be the wind farms that will be developed near to Groningen, one of them to become one of the biggest offshore wind farms in the world: Gemini. Post: “The Gemini wind farm will be constructed with the Eemshaven as its home base. The parts that are going to be built outside the Netherlands will be transported to the harbour and stored here until they are needed. When finished and in operation, maintenance will be managed from the Eemshaven as well. That is why we are already preparing to build a helicopter port in the Beatrixhaven.” These offshore wind activities have already attracted several companies to the harbour, like WP Offshore and Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), and SEMC Darwind has plans to build a plant for the construction of wind turbines.

The Dutch offshore wind farms are not the only opportunity for the harbour: “In Germany the transition to sustainable energy is further ahead. 5,000 wind turbines will be constructed nearby the Eemshaven. As a port, we must seize this opportunity and take advantage of the possibilities being offered to us as energy port”, says Post.

Investment

Since 2007, a total of around € six billion is invested in the Eemshaven by settlingcompanies like Nuon and Vopak, and around € 250 million by Groningen Seaports themselves. The changes that have been made so far are extensive and contain an expansion of the harbour with 150 hectare. Without the expansion, the harbour would most likely be out of space in 2020. Most of these works have been carried out by Liebregts-Van den Herik.

One of the companies that was attracted to the Eemshaven is Vopak, who opened their tank storage terminal in 2012. Bart van der Meer, operations manager Vopak Terminal Northern Netherlands, says: “The harbour is a designated energy port. For our terminal the location was good because access to and from the sea is good. Furthermore, the Eemshaven had offered the space we were looking for.”

“The inland connection is also a unique selling point for the harbour”, says Post. “Until we started to make the changes in the harbour and focused more on energy, the location of the harbour was what attracted companies. The Eemshaven has not been the most successful harbour until now, but when one third of the Netherlands’ electricity will be produced here, the national importance will grow. The investments mean a great boost of the harbour’s main activities, the lease of land, the transshipment of goods and the employment in the region.”

Keep on going

Today, the Eemshaven consists of the Emmahaven, Julianahaven, Wilhelminahaven and Beatrixhaven. The Wilhelminahaven is where the power stations are being built; € 55 million has been invested by Groningen Seaports to create new harbour basins and a 1,250 metre long deep sea quay. The Beatrixhaven was constructed in 2008, and meanwhile an expansion of the harbour was already necessary to make it suitable for the arrival of offshore wind activities. 90 hectares of the new available space is created here. Furthermore, the harbour will be deepened to 10.4 metres under Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (NAP) (and this will be increased to 14 metres in the future), the quay is currently 700 metres and will be lengthened to 1,420 metres and will be made suitable for heavy cargo transshipment. These changes are due to be finished at the beginning of 2015.

Post: “However, in the comingtwo to three years these investments will continue. The southeast side of the Eemshaven will be extended, because we expect the settlement of data hotels. They have nothing to do with actual hotels, but are large computer memories going on row after row. In the Eemshaven the transatlantic information cable to the United States of America enters, and forms a figurative roundabout with routes to Hamburg and Groningen. These hotels use a lot of power, which is of course available in an energy harbour like the Eemshaven. And naturally, we continue to focus on offshore wind developments.”

Environmental issues

All these changes have a big impact on the environment, so intensive consultation with environmental organisations and other concerned parties was and is necessary. Post: “We have taken the environment into account very seriously. In the past 30 to 40 years there was no activity in the areas of the harbour we now have taken into use, and a lot of ecosystems and nature are developing here. Therefore, we spent € 20 million on environmental compensation measurements. For example, we have created new nature reserves outside of the harbour; we bought out fishermen so that in several parts of the Wadden Sea fishing is forbidden compensating for the disruption the sea life experiences due to our expansion and several monitoring surveys will be executed, to keep an eye on the environment. Next to this, we have created an Ecostrip in the harbour itself, where all nature will be left alone. In this area, the fen orchid is blossoming, a very rare plant in the Netherlands, and it is quite wonderful to come across this orchid in the harbour.”

He continues: “All these measurements have been taken in cooperation with environmental  organisations and the government. The execution is also happening in dialogue, the nature reserves, for example, will be managed by Dutch environmental organisation Natuurmonumenten.”

Reducing the impact

Vopak also chose to have an open dialogue and close contact with the Waddenvereniging as well as other stakeholders before even starting to build their terminal. The company facilitated a process that lead to recommendations to improve safety in the Wadden area. Van der Meer: “Next to the practical measurements taken by Groningen Seaports, 50 recommendations to improve safety and risk management in case of an oil spill in the Waddenarea, were made. Groningen Seaports, Rijkswaterstaat, Waddenvereniging and Nature and Environmental Organisation Groningen, Natuur- en Milieufederatie Groningen took the initiative to invite 20 organisations, all involved in risk management in the Wadden area, to brainstorm about safety management. The recommendations have been collected in a booklet called Veiligheid bieden, veiligheid krijgen, in English: offer safety, receive safety.”

Vopak is one of the companies that has taken extra environmental precautions to make sure the ecological impact of their residence in the Eemshaven is minimal. Van der Meer: “When you build an oil terminal in an area such as the Wadden, it is important to involve all concerned parties. We listened to all stakeholders and also shared and explained our plans. Working safely is our highest priority and eliminating risk is a key element in all our activities. For example, we have collaborated with Rijkswaterstaat to decide on the maximum amount of oil per vessel. This ensures that if something goes wrong there is enough oil spill management capacity to minimise the impact on the environment. Next to this, we have adapted our terminal. Due to security reasons, the lights on the terminal remain lit during the night and we use green coloured lights to minimise our impact on the route of migratory birds.”

Anne Kregting