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The company applies to the competition process and requests 120,000 square metres.
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The application is part of an ambitious fixed and floating offshore wind manufacturing project that will require a total of 380,000 square metres.
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The equipment that the company plans to manufacture is a real challenge from a production and logistical point of view.
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Duro Felguera wants to position itself in this sector, which will grow exponentially in the coming years.
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The project will have a significant impact on regional employment.
Within the framework of the competition dossier published in the Official State Gazette on 5 August 2022, Duro Felguera, S.A. has submitted an application for a concession on the north quay of the extension of the port of Gijón.
The object is the construction of permanent infrastructures for the serial production of foundations for the offshore wind market, as well as the alternative expansion of the storage area for the manufactured equipment.
The company’s plan in El Musel is structured in two phases. The first, with facilities for operational activities and storage on the 120,000 square metres currently classified as auxiliary use, will involve an investment of 66 million euros. The second, which foresees the expansion of the facilities with a XXL Monopiles manufacturing line, would be developed on the new land that will be subject to substantial modification and would raise the investment to 115 million euros. The overall project will require a total of 380,000 square metres.
This activity will have a significant impact on regional employment, with peaks of up to 800 direct workers and the creation of 3 to 4 indirect jobs for every 1 direct job in the first phase.
The concession requested by Duro Felguera within the Competition Procedure opened by the Port Authority of Gijón will, if granted, allow the company to position itself at a crucial moment in the market for the manufacture of these large components for the offshore wind industry, which is expected to experience exponential growth over the next decade.
Foundations are the main infrastructure of any offshore wind farm, supporting the wind turbines in a very challenging environment. The equipment that Duro Felguera wants to build in El Musel is a real challenge from a production and logistical point of view.
These structures, whether fixed or floating, account for a large part of the total cost of the power generation package. They are large structures for supporting offshore wind towers and other structural components associated with them, which can only be transported to their final location by sea, due to their large size and weight. Duro Felguera would have access, from the strategic location of the Port of Gijón, to the important markets of northern Europe and the east coast of the United States, in addition to the domestic market on the coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
The ease of maritime transport – which has few limitations in terms of cargo and dimensions compared to land transport – has made it possible for wind turbines to reach much larger unit powers and sizes in the ocean than on land. The main difference compared to onshore wind generation lies in the greater technological difficulty of constructing and maintaining offshore wind farms.
These circumstances mean that the manufacture of these large components can only be carried out in ports with suitable technical characteristics, both in terms of draught and access to the loading of these large parts.
The application submitted by Duro Felguera is in accordance with the uses defined in the Delimitation of Port Areas and Uses (DEUP) of the Port Authority of Gijón, including the recently approved non-substantial modification of the same.