Three West Jutland municipalities vie to host wind farm heliport

Three municipalities on Denmark’s west coast are seeking to host a heliport for operators of offshore wind farms in the North Sea, DR reports.

Holstebro, Lemvig and Ringkøbing-Skjern municipalities are all preparing plans to serve wind farms in the North Sea with helicopter flights. The deadline for objections to a proposed heliport in the port town of Thorsminde, in Holstebro Municipality, is approaching. The plans have prompted local debate, including the creation of a Facebook group opposing the proposal.

Dorthe Katborg, who runs Thorsminde Camping, said she understood residents’ concerns that helicopter flights over the town could deter visitors drawn by its nature and tranquillity. She said the initial plans faced opposition, but politicians had listened and made compromises. Katborg said she had become more positive about the heliport and hoped it could help create opportunities for the town.

Holstebro Municipality’s technical committee chair, Klaus Flæng, said the municipality expected to proceed with a heliport in the southern part of Thorsminde. He said officials had consulted stakeholders and shown that the plan could meet all regulations.

Flæng acknowledged that three heliports in western Jutland would exceed the needs of the offshore wind operators under current plans. He said he hoped Holstebro’s proposal was further advanced than the others.

The municipalities say the plans could help secure local jobs and make them attractive to additional offshore wind operators. Lemvig Municipality has already approved service flights to the North Sea from an existing heliport at the airfield in Rom, south of Lemvig. The permit drew protests from some neighbours.

A heliport proposal in Hvide Sande collapsed two years ago after local opposition. However, plans are still being discussed in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality, where Hvide Sande port chief Mogens Pedersen has proposed a landing site at a different location in the municipality. The proposal has not yet been considered politically.

Pedersen said the municipality did not know whether Vattenfall needed a heliport there, but wanted to be able to offer one. Vattenfall and RWE are developing offshore wind farms in the North Sea. RWE communications director Birgit Hiller said boats would take technicians to the turbines each day, but helicopters would also be important, particularly in bad weather.

Vattenfall Denmark communications chief Rasmus Helveg Petersen said the company did not yet have a clear picture of its need for helicopter flights and would discuss its requirements with Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality when they were known.

The wind farms mentioned in the article include Vattenfall’s Nordsøen Midt, planned 20 to 50 kilometres off Hvide Sande, and RWE’s Thor wind farm, 22 kilometres off the west coast.