South Jersey Facility Welding, Coating Units for Ocean-1 Offshore Wind Project
The Paulsboro Marine Terminal in the US state of New Jersey is handling 98 monopiles destined for the 1.1-GW Ocean-1 Offshore Wind Project off the US East Coast.
Paulsboro on the Delaware River is part of the South Jersey Port Corporation, or SJPC.
The monopiles, the most common type of foundation used for offshore wind turbines, are being manufactured by Germany’s EEW Group and shipped to the Paulsboro facility from Rostock in Germany.
The units are being welded and coated at Paulsboro before deployment to Ocean-1.
A stevedoring agreement is in place between EEW and Paulsboro Waterfront Development, a division of terminal operator Holt Logistics.
“98 monopiles will be installed for Ocean Wind-1. Each fully assembled monopile weighs approximately 1,500 tonnes and is almost 500 feet long,” Brendan Dugan, assistant executive director and CCO at SJPC, told Breakbulk.
SJPC is currently building a US$250 million monopile construction facility at Paulsboro that will supply projects all along the US eastern seaboard.
EEW will eventually be able to manufacture the monopiles at the terminal.
According to Dugan, the Paulsboro facility is the only location in the US where monopiles will be manufactured, giving it “first mover” advantage as a key hub for manufacturing and supplying monopiles to the offshore wind industry in North America.
The project’s first phase is up and running, which includes a welding building where monopile segments shipped are welded together and a coating facility where protective coating is applied.
“Site preparation for the second phase has begun, which will enable EEW to fully manufacture the monopiles in Paulsboro without requiring the import of segments from Germany for assembly,” Dugan said.
South Jersey Port’s international seaport facilities – which also include the breakbulk-handling terminals of Balzano and Broadway – are a gateway for more than four million tonnes of cargo every year.
South Jersey Port Corporation will be exhibiting at Breakbulk Americas 2023, taking place on 26-28 September at the George R. Brown Conference Centre in Houston, Texas.
PHOTO: Monopiles arrive at Paulsboro Marine Terminal, April 2023. CREDIT: SJPC
