ABLE Humber Port - ABLE Marine Energy Park

• Cluster Benefits
• Design
• Objectives
• Documents

ABLE MARINE ENERGY PARK (AMEP)

The Able Marine Energy Park (AMEP) is a fully consented project that will be a bespoke port facility for the Renewable Energy Sector, particularly Offshore Wind. It will represent a c £450m investment by ABLE and covers an area of c 317 ha and will feature 1,340m of new deep-water quays.

“AMEP represents a singular opportunity for the UK to establish a world scale offshore wind industrial cluster and enable the UK to maximise the economic development potential provided by the large, emerging market created and supported by Government policies. Today with the AMEP project, I believe we sit on the cusp of something that is potentially very special – a project that should both transform the local economy and become a facility of international repute.” Peter Stephenson, Executive Chairman, Able UK

AMEP is a very simple concept based on industrial logic that will meet the needs of the emerging renewable energy sectors.

For a sector where proximity to market is paramount, it makes sense to offer a big space in the right place, with substantial quays built to accommodate the deployment of large industrial components to the North Sea and beyond – all this, in the heart of the largest offshore wind market in the world.

AMEP offers 1,349m of new heavy duty deep water quays and 317 hectares  of developable land. It is designed specifically for the marine renewables sector providing a multi-user facility for the manufacture, storage, assembly and deployment of next generation offshore wind turbines  and their associated supply chain(s).

The quays have been designed following extensive liaison with the offshore wind industry (developers, manufacturers and installation vessel operators). The facility will be fully fit for purpose, future proofed, and particularly suited for the deployment of new generation jack-up installation vessels.

The quays are suitably designed for importation of components and raw materials.

Cluster Benefits

AMEP will:

• Dramatically reduce the industry’s expenditure on delivery and installation vessels
• Introduce a new, fixed, transparent charging model for operating the quays producing both stability and producibility at a huge cost saving when compared to other port operators
• Allow lower delivered costs for components by dramatically reducing the number of supply chain interventions (lifts and moves), reducing the components ‘journey’ and overall ‘industry carbon footprint’

A truly integrated cluster in the Humber will bring additional benefits and have a profound impact on wider business behaviours towards the sector:

• Cost and risk reduction – a higher propensity to finance and insure projects
• An integrated cluster will enable deeper relationships between manufacturers and key suppliers to be enhanced (a subject long since embraced by the oil and gas sector)
• Having a critical mass of activity in one geographic area will accelerate innovation and shorten ‘time to market’
• Installation rates can be accelerated due to an optimal deployment location (long quays, designed to -17m CD) in close proximity to market.
• The quays are designed to receive the largest delivery vessels so that tenants can maximise the use of delivery vessels allowing access to world market shipments and avoid the costs and time delays of inter European cargo splits.
• A cluster will allow manufacturers to have greater control over their quality assurance chain with suppliers adjacent to their own assembly plants. This expedites meetings and minimises time out of the office for senior personnel.
• The large land bank at AMEP allows investors to phase investments and stagger growth according to their needs and market share.
• The opportunity to share infrastructure negates the need for investors to purchase expensive capital equipment.

AMEP – Cost Benefits

The combination of the ‘big space in the right place’ brings cost advantages on a major scale.

“Logistics savings by clustering would be between 2% and 3% of the total turbine sales value compared to distributed supply chains so there is a strong incentive for turbine producers to group their manufacturing facilities, supply chain and construction facilities.” BVG Associates

AMEP’s effective deployment location combined with the ability for suppliers and OEMs to be located within close proximity to one another eliminate the expensive logistics costs associated with a distributed supply chain.

The table below compares the lifts and moves required in the journey of an offshore wind turbine’s tower (in three separate sections) from the factory to it being loaded onto an installation vessel at its deployment port (AMEP). It compares the merits of a distributed supply chain against a scenario where it is manufactured and deployed from AMEP.

*denotes – Dogger Bank consisting of 285 12MW turbines

This exercise shows that 15 separate interventions (lifts and moves) are eliminated from the journey of each offshore wind turbine’s tower..

This exercise does not even consider the additional equipment that is involved with these logistics interventions or the additional costs associated with them such as:

• Component packaging and discarding of waste material
• Insurance premiums
• Damage cost reduction
• Vessel costs (charter rates, fuel, supplies and labour)
• Port charges at load out port facility
• Handling fees (stevedoring)
• Storage costs and equipment at both the port and place of manufacture

Design

Using industry information we have designed the quays as follows:-

• Total quay length: 1,349m
• Providing 4 adjacent installation yards (79 ha in total)Quay width: 25m
• Quay surface: Concrete
• Concrete quay capacity: 20T/m2 UDL with patch loads up to 100T/m²
• Quays will initially provide 18.3m of water at MHWS (11.0 at MLWS)
• Quays designed to be capable of operating at up to -17.00mCD
• Berths pocket 61m wide
• Quays designed to allow vessels to jack-up alongside
• Berths: Engineered floor (90T/m²)
• Bollards 150T and 250T – 24m apart
• Vessels can berth side by side
• The area has no history of operations being interrupted by ice or sand

To date, c. £280m has been invested in preparing AMEP for the speedy construction of industrial facilities for its tenants.

The full site is flat with a UDL of 10T/m² and a patch load of 50T/m² with no risk of environmental contamination.

In the heart of an industrial area and with no residential neighbours, AMEP is suitable for operations to work 24 hours per day; 7 days per week, as required.

AMEP provides tenants with first right of refusal on adjacent land enabling planned and phased development.

Tenants will require individual, bespoke capital equipment. To reduce upfront capital expenditure AMEP will provide multi-user services that are available to hire such as large cranes, reach/lift trucks, dock cranes and SPMTs.

Lighting – 50m high lighting columns across the site with 30m lighting columns within the business park and supplier park areas.

Security – 24 hour security with gatehouse on designated entrances. The port will have full industry security accreditations -DfT Maritime (formerly TRANSEC).

Compounds and facilities will be fenced with effective use of landscaping to further mitigate security issues and provide clear on site demarcation.

The development land has been designed to the appropriate flood defence levels agreed and established by the UK Environment Agency. This is on the basis of a flood risk assessment and will accommodate the 1 in 200 year tidal event, which has an annual occurrence probability of 0.5%.

Objectives

To provide the robust infrastructure that the offshore wind sector  seeks.

To allow tenants to benefit from economies of scale by creating a truly integrated offshore wind cluster.

To play a pivotal role in accelerating offshore wind installation rates and achieve vital cost reductions.

Land is available for development immediately and the first quays are planned to become available in Q3 2023. .

AMEP is situated on the widest part of the Humber Estuary at 4km in width. The Humber’s natural characteristics offer a sheltered harbour location with two deep water channels providing quick and unhindered access to the open seas.

To download the AMEP Offshore wind brochure please click below.

AMEP Benefits for Wind Brochure

Documents

AMEP MATERIAL CHANGE 2 – UNDER CONSTRUCTION