Scotland

New wind cluster for Scottish Borders

Brockholes Wind Cluster- Brockholes Farm, Duns

A £4 million project to construct a new wind cluster is nearing completion.

Brockholes Wind Cluster is a brand new site taking shape on Brockholes Farm, Duns in the Scottish Borders. The project comprises construction of three Enercon E48 turbines, each measuring 55 metres to the hub and 79.5 meters to the tip, and the installation of an associated sub-station building.

Once work is complete on the project, Brockholes Wind Cluster will have a total capacity of 2.4MW of electricity. Brockholes Wind Cluster is being funded by the Co-Operative Bank, with Green Cat Renewables acting as the client’s technical advisor and engineer.

Work began on Brockholes Wind Cluster in February 2012. Prior to any work taking place on the project, the site benefitted from good access however the access junction required minor widening and the council requested some laybys be constructed along the unclassified roads accessing the farm.  On the farm itself 0.5km of existing tracks were upgraded to facilitate the construction traffic and the mobile crane, with 0.8km of new track constructed providing access to each turbine.

The upgrade of the existing access track took the form of 100mm of aggregate with the new access track requiring 350mm of aggregate to accommodate the weight of a 96 tonne crane which is being used during the installation of turbines.

Once the planning application for the site was approved a Construction Method Statement and Pre Construction Health and Safety Plan were developed. Surveys were also undertaken to monitor for any badger or bat activity in the surrounding areas, and as a result the council required mitigation measures to be undertaken including the planting of additional woodland to encourage wildlife to move away from the turbines.

Currently concrete turbine foundations, provided by Enercon, have been installed on the site and work is continuing to remain on schedule. The installation of turbines began in early October.

Andrew Aveyard, Green Cat Renewables, said:

“We chose Enercon E48 turbines as Enercon has the best reputation in the industry for supplying high-quality products. Enercon provides a great warranty across all its products and offers services and maintenance through its own UK-based team.

“Once the turbines are in place we shouldn’t encounter any major maintenance problems with the site. Enercon E48 turbines have excellent storm control, meaning they operate well through periods of high wind and they are also able to cope with stormy weather conditions.”

Andrew added:

“Getting projects like Brockholes Wind Cluster off the ground is great for Green Cat Renewables as a project like this is exactly what we specialise in.

“When tackling a project we always look at different contract structures and what is applicable for each site. On the Brockholes Wind Cluster project we decided a multi-contract approach was preferable and this has helped us provide savings for the client. Green Cat Renewables designed all the works on the project, including the roads and drainage operations and this allowed us to reduce costs and therefore reduce risks.

Brockholes Wind Cluster- Brockholes Farm, Duns

“Currently we have around 50 projects at different stages of construction from commissioning through to construction and we are very pleased with the progress of Brockholes Wind Cluster.”

Brockholes Wind Cluster is scheduled to reach completion in November 2012.

Green Cat Renewables

Since 2005, Green Cat Renewables has been developing and building renewable projects throughout the UK. The company has over 50 completed projects with over 50MW of installed capacity, with over 150MW of projects in the pipeline.

Green Cat Renewables operates from six offices based in the UK and currently employs a team of over 60 environmental consultants, engineers, geotechnical engineers and legal support, providing a range of services to renewable energy developers. The company works hard to tailor its services to meet the needs of individual developers throughout the entirety of a project.

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