Crane stirs debate at port

OLYMPIA – Amid the log piles and two-ton bags of industrial abrasives at the Port of Olympia rests another cargo that port officials believe could be a growing sector for the port’s marine terminal.

That cargo, currently stored near the marine terminal warehouse, are 92 sets of wind turbine blades bound for an electricity-generating wind farm in Vantage.

The port has imported 125-foot-long blades for about the past four years and potentially is poised to do more business based on the number of wind farms along Interstate 90 under development, port marketing staff told the port commission this week.

“We are pursuing every opportunity to be part of this rapidly growing industry,” marketing and business development manager Jim Knight said.

He added that the port’s proximity to I-90 puts it in a good position to entice more wind-related cargo, compared with its competition at the state ports of Vancouver and Longview.

Port research shows there are about eight wind farm projects in some state of development along I-90 in Washington and a handful more along the same stretch of highway in Montana. All of that could translate into a need for more than 1,100 wind turbines, requiring about 3,400 blades and an estimated 100 to 120 ships to transport those blades, Knight said.

Today, the port handles only blades. Other sections of the wind turbines include tower pieces and the “nacelle,” one of the heaviest parts of the overall structure because it houses the turbine that generates electricity, Knight said.

He said the port has the equipment to move blades and tower pieces, but if it wants to branch out and import the nacelle, it will require a heavy mobile crane, an investment already made by the ports of Longview and Vancouver. Although the port can always rent equipment, “from a marketing perspective it’s easier to say we have (the cranes) rather than getting access to them,” he said.

One challenge, though, is that the heavy mobile cranes acquired by competing ports cost about $4 million, Knight said. Commissioner Bill McGregor said the opportunities for wind-related cargo are encouraging, but he wants the port to generate steady revenue first before it considers such an investment.

“We don’t want to get out too far,” he said.

Commissioner Paul Telford also questioned whether the long blades, shipped by truck, can cross Snoqualmie Pass on I-90.

They can, Knight said, but it’s entirely up to the trucking company which route they want to use. This means the port must not only market to wind-related cargo manufacturers and developers but also trucking companies, he said.

The blades, bound for Eastern Washington, won’t be shipped until next year, executive director Ed Galligan added, but the port does receive revenue from the windfarm developer for storing the blades. That revenue was not disclosed so the port won’t be undercut on price by a competing port, Galligan said.

Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403

rboone@theolympian.com