Port of Galveston Sees Wind Turbine Shipments Rise

By Simon West

The Port of Galveston in Texas is handling “hundreds” of wind turbine blades and tower pieces bound for a US$5 billion wind farm project in the southern U.S. state of New Mexico.

In the nine months to October, the port imported 979 wind pieces weighing a combined 32,000 tons, with eight more shipments scheduled for the remainder of this year, said Galveston Wharves, the city entity that manages the port. The components are being transported by rail and truck to the 3,500-megawatt (MW) SunZia Wind project, billed as the largest wind farm in the U.S.

The project, slated to come online in 2026, is calling for the installation of some 900 turbines across three counties in central New Mexico. As such, the pace of deliveries into Galveston is expected to remain strong through 2025, the company said.

“We’ve been able to attract more wind business because we have the skilled labor, transportation infrastructure and proximity to an interstate highway,” said Rodger Rees, Galveston Wharves port director and CEO. “Offloading, moving and transporting these huge pieces takes specialized skills and equipment.”

According to Galveston Wharves, waterfront workers are moving blades as long as 75.7 meters, the largest wind pieces to come across Galveston docks since the port began handling wind turbine pieces in the early 2000s. Nearby road modification have been carried out to accommodate larger blades.

“The port and its stevedore tenants saw an opportunity to capture new wind business after federal tax incentives authorized in 2022 spurred more wind imports,” the company said.

“The port has been able to attract the new wind cargo business by authorizing additional cargo acreage for its Foreign Trade Zone in 2023 to accommodate its expanding wind turbine import business. The port can now designate an additional 23 acres between piers 34 and 41 within its West Port Cargo Complex to stimulate new business.”

Located at the entrance to Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel, the Port of Galveston is one of the busiest ports in Texas, typically handling more than four million tons of cargo a year. Freight moving through the 840-acre facility includes bulk liquids, bulk fertilizer, wind and general cargo, new cars and other RoRo items.

The first phase of a US$90 million overhaul of Galveston’s West Port Cargo Complex, a project aimed at boosting the facility’s cargo-handling capacity by a third, is expected to be complete in 2026.


Read more: Green Sector Growth Sparks Opportunity for Project Cargo in the Americas

Port of Galveston is an exhibitor at Breakbulk Americas.