Port of Corpus Christi’s new breakbulk cargo laydown yard, the Rincon West Yard, received its first shipment of wind turbine components on July 14.
Vestas is importing wind turbine nacelles, hubs, drive trains and blades for Tri Global Energy’s 148 MW Blue Cloud Wind Farm, located in the Texas Panhandle counties of Bailey and Lamb.
The Rincon West Yard will serve as the first point of rest for the imported breakbulk cargo prior to the components’ shipment via truck to the job site.
“The future of wind energy is important to Corpus Christi, Texas and the United States, and our Rincon West Yard is an incredibly viable logistics option for the innovative wind energy industry,” says Sean Strawbridge, CEO of the port, which is located on the western Gulf of Mexico. “The port is proud to play a support role for Texas in leading the nation in wind energy development, and we are pleased to partner with Vestas in facilitating the transportation of wind energy infrastructure to the Blue Cloud construction site.”
The Rincon West Yard is a 25-acre laydown yard in close proximity to Cargo Dock 9, located on the north side of the ship channel. Developed for heavy-haul and breakbulk cargo, the site also has adjacent highway systems and barge docks.
At the end of 2017, the port reached a new wind turbine cargo milestone by having handled more than 3,000 wind turbine components, including blades and tower sections. That number is up from 2,603 and 2,875 in 2015 and 2016, respectively, the port says.
