Erection of the first of 40 wind turbines at Farr Wind Farm began this week (Saturday 24th September), after sections arrived at the site, 10 miles south of Inverness.
Earlier this month the sections arrived at Invergordon port, however, with the blades alone being some 40metres long guidance was sought from the Highland Constabulary on how to carry out transportation to the site. Following this consultation delivery was carried out in the early hours of the morning to avoid any disturbance to local traffic.
The remaining wind turbines will go up over the coming months and when completed the wind farm will be capable of producing enough renewable electricity each year to power some 50,000 homes - equivalent to half of all homes in the Highlands.
The project will not only be benefiting the environment through the generation of renewable energy. At the peak of construction the site will employ some one hundred people, with around a quarter of the £70million cost going to Scottish Companies. Wider benefits have also been felt by local service businesses such as hotels and shops, through the presence of workers during construction.
Mike Unsworth, Project Manager for npower renewables said, "This is a large and challenging project due to its high altitude and exposure to extreme weather conditions - everything that makes it ideal for generating wind power. Despite these challenges the project is progressing to schedule and I am delighted that we have been able to begin erection of the first turbine as soon as we have."
Dr Tom Dargie of Boreas Ecology, Project Ecologist for the construction phase, said "Major mitigation efforts have been made to minimise effects on breeding birds, otter, water vole and habitats during construction, together with monitoring of water quality discharging into the Nairn and Findhorn catchments. Npower renewables takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and up to a dozen ecologists have been involved in ensuring sound environmental management on this site."
Mr Unsworth added, "With the way things have started we are right on track to complete the wind farm around spring next year."
For further information contact:
Notes:
-
The project will comprise 40 wind turbines each rated at 2.3 megawatts (MW) and will have a combined capacity of 92MW. Once complete it will generate enough clean electricity to meet the average annual needs of some 50,000 homes. This clean generation will prevent the release of approximately 200,000 tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide every year that would otherwise have been generated and released from power stations burning fossil fuels like coal and oil.
-
The Wind Power Division of Siemens Power Generation encompasses the activities of the recently acquired Bonus Energy A/S. The Power Generation Group (PG) of Siemens AG is one of the premier companies in the international power generation sector. In fiscal 2004 (which ended September 30), Siemens PG posted sales amounting to approximately EUR7.5 billion and received new orders totalling EUR9.2 billion. Group profit amounted to EUR961 million. On September 30, 2004, PG had a work force of approximately 30,900 world wide.
Further information at: http://www.siemens.com/powergeneration.
-
Each wind turbine consists of two tower sections, a nacelle on top of the tower housing the gearbox and generator plus three rotor blades. The components are assembled on site and each turbine is completed when the rotor blades are lifted and fitted into position using two cranes.
Press Release
