Wind Today - Q2 2008 - (Page 50)

cargo handling services,” says Harris, “It’s important to be able to report that customers are happy with us.” Harris knows from experience what it takes to satisfy Port customers. Prior to her current job, Harris worked for a wind turbine manufacturer where she learned what companies need in a port of entry. “When manufacturers are selecting a port of entry for their products, they talk about ‘qualifying factors,’” says Harris. Qualifying factors include adequate storage, responsive labor, and necessary equipment and infrastructure. Storage torage When products are imported from overseas, the manufacturer may operate on a different schedule from that of a wind farm developer. Manufacturers may ship components as soon as they are completed; however, the components may need to be stored at the port until moving on to the wind farm. “Wind farm sites may not be ready to accept the components right away, outbound road trucks might not be available, or there may be restrictions with the Department of Transportation regarding when components can be moved on highways,” says Jonathan Lamb, general manger, LSW. Adequate laydown area for storage is another important tool that ports can offer developers and wind farm operators. Laydown areas allow for storage until trucks or rail transport can move the components to their final destination. Harris says laydown areas need to have plenty of room for maneuverability. “Blades and tower sections are long and heavy,” says Harris. “Adequate working space is necessary to move the components in and out of storage.” Equipment Lamb explains that LSW unloads components from a ship using a gantry crane, then moves them to the laydown yard on a shuttle truck. At the laydown yard, a mobile crane moves the components from the shuttle truck to a staging area where they sit until outbound road trucks are ready to take them to the wind farm site. “A mobile crane is an essential piece of equipment for a port handling wind industry cargo,” says Harris. At the Port of Longview, a stevedoring company performs vessel discharge activities. The Port of Longview receives the cargo on the dock and transfers components from dockside to the laydown yard. Harris says the Port of Longview Experienced, professional labor crews are key to satisfying Port customers. Photo from Port of Longview. recently purchased a Liebherr 500S mobile harbor crane that will lift 100 tons at 100 feet outreach. Without this crane, says Harris, incoming ships would need to provide their own crane to discharge cargo, and the Port would have to arrange for a mobile crane from a third party crane provider to load trucks. Additional equipment ports need to support wind industry cargo handling includes trailers to shuttle the product to storage and then to outbound trucks or railcars, fork lifts, equipment to secure materials when taking them out of the hold of a ship, and reach stackers. Some of this equipment may be rented from a third party provider. Labor Johnson and Harris agree that experienced, professional labor crews are key to satisfying Port customers. ‘The crews at LSW have been handling wind cargo since 2004, but they handled machinery and heavy cargo for paper mills and oil sands long before that,” says Johnson. Their experience, he says, enables them to unload and load ships efficiently. At Port of Longview, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) laborers have been handling wind-related cargo since summer, 2003. “The crews know what’s expected in handling cargo specific to the wind industry,” says Harris. “Wind components are heavy, fragile, and require special treatment,” she says. “Zero damage is our goal.” WIND TODA Y Second Quarter 2008 50 Response No. 501 http://www.andersonhaulage.com http://www.andersonhaulage.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Wind Today - Q2 2008

Wind Today - Q2 2008 Contents WINDPOWER 2008 - Host City - Houston WINDPOWER 2008 Special Events CanWEA 2008: Fast Forward to Wind Global Wind Plant Ownership Top 15 States with Wind Energy Installed Ranking the Percentage of State Electricity from Wind Largest Wind Farms in the United States Owners with the Most Wind Power Assets in the United States Rick Perry Bluegrass Ridge, Cow Branch, and Conception Wind Farms Loess Hills Wind Farm Bob Emick enXco V and enXco V Repower Climb Assist Devices GWEC Market Forecast Ports of Entry Satisfy Customers WINDPOWER 2008 Schedule Calendar Seven Principal Financing Structures Used in Utility-Scale Wind Projects Raising Project Funds Through Private Placements The Minnesota Flip Business Model Wind Resource Glossary WT Transmission Corn Plus Coop Adds Wind Energy Wind Resource Maps Ryan Orban, Iberdrola Renewables Liz Cussans, TransAlta Wind Bolton & Menk Trachte Port of Corpus Christi NPPD Interstate Truck Rental & Sales Dr. Shrink Aldridge Electric HYTORC Product Surveys Ad Index

Wind Today - Q2 2008

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