Infranode, a Swedish fund investing in Nordic infrastructure, plans to invest up to one billion Danish kroner (around $145 million) in Danish Port Esbjerg's offshore wind turbine facilities.
Investments would go into port facilities for storage, reassemble, and manufacturing of components for the offshore wind industry.
Around 80 percent of the offshore wind capacity installed in Europe today was shipped from Esbjerg. In the record year of 2019, more than 1,500 MW of offshore wind turbine components were shipped from the port of Esbjerg.
According to a statement issued by the port on Thursday, the new investment could create thousands of “green” jobs in Esbjerg and the rest of Denmark.
"The investment is expected to create as many as 2,000 new jobs. The port of Esbjerg already has an employment effect equivalent to 17,000 jobs in and outside of Esbjerg," Port Esbjerg said.
"Investments will be made available gradually as manufacturers of wind turbine components and offshore wind service providers expand their businesses in the rapidly growing wind turbine industry," Port Esbjerg said.
“We’ve found a strong, long-term partner with substantial insights in energy, port infrastructure and sustainability. With this new partnership, the city of Esbjerg, Port Esbjerg and Denmark will be even better prepared to seize opportunities to create green growth and new jobs in the massive expansion of offshore wind power in the North Sea as we approach 2030,” says Flemming N. Enevoldsen, Port Esbjerg’s Chairman.
Five-fold increase in Offshore Wind Projects by 2030
"The port of Esbjerg is one of the world’s largest ports within the offshore wind industry and is now preparing for further expansion. The port of Esbjerg is one of the world’s key hubs for the growing offshore wind industry, and the coming years will offer a large potential for growth," the Port said Thursday.
According to the statement, there are currently prospective projects of up to 100 GW being installed in the North Sea by 2030 – a 5-fold increase compared to today. This will require wind turbines of even larger sizes than the ones in operation today.
And in this context, the new facilities in the port of Esbjerg will contribute to sustainable development by reducing the costs of transportation between production sites and installation sites, it said.
"Esbjerg is uniquely positioned in a rapidly growing offshore wind market as well as in the North Sea, which plays a key role in Europe’s climate transition. We’re pleased to have this opportunity to play a part in building on that position and to create a setting for future green growth in the region. We want to play a part in propelling the industry to new heights,” says Infranode Senior Advisor Niels Vallø.
“This investment is part of our strategy of being a long-term partner to the public sector in the green transition currently unfolding in Denmark and throughout the Nordic region, and we look forward to investing in more Danish infrastructure projects,” says Joel Löfroth, who is in charge of Infranode’s activities in Denmark.