Port on banks of Clyde on track for record year amid wind turbine boom

This year’s work represents a significant increase in tonnage from 2023.

Since 2005 Peel Ports Clydeport has handled over 1,200 wind turbines through King George V Dock, resulting in more than 35 per cent of total capacity installed in Scotland.

A west coast port is on track for a record year as it handles more than a thousand wind turbine components.

Peel Ports Clydeport said its King George V Dock site in Glasgow continued to support the renewable energy sector. The UK’s second largest port operator is expected to process in excess of one thousand components, weighing more than 60,000 tonnes in total, at the site throughout 2024. Since 2005, Peel Ports Clydeport has handled the parts for some 1,200 wind turbines through the dock, resulting in more than a third of total capacity installed in Scotland.

Representing a significant increase in tonnage from last year, some 1,050 components, 100 complete turbines and 249 blades from North Kyle Wind Farm in East Ayrshire are set to go through the port’s deep-sea dock facility during 2024. The group will further handle around 550 blades, 100 drivetrains, 100 nacelles - covers that house all of the generating components - and 300 tower sections. King George V Dock’s deep-sea facility is said to be uniquely equipped to accommodate the handling of large-scale wind turbine components.

Jim McSporran, port director at Peel Ports Clydeport, said: “The tonnage set to pass through King George V Dock in the year ahead is really impressive, but what’s more, it shows the confidence of those working across the renewables sector in our ability to open the door for the seamless, and vital, transportation of key components. As the world looks to rise to the most urgent environmental challenges, the need for renewable energy has never been greater.”