Plans for a £600 million mega-project to build what will probably be the world’s biggest wind farm on a remote Scottish island are being drawn up by AMEC and its partner company British Energy.
The massive facility, on Lewis in the North Atlantic, will involve the construction of up to 300 wind turbines which will generate at least 600 MW of electrical power – around one per cent of the UK’s annual electricity needs.
The project, which also includes a sub-sea cable hundreds of miles long to connect the farm to the UK mainland, will be developed jointly by AMEC and British Energy and will help the UK Government to achieve its targets for sustainable energy generation by 2010.
AMEC Chief Executive Peter Mason, who was in Stornoway on Lewis for the official announcement by UK Energy Minister Brian Wilson, said: “I am very pleased that AMEC is involved in such an exciting renewable energy project to create Europe’s – and probably the world’s - largest wind farm.
“It will, by any standards, firmly establish wind power as an essential element of the UK’s energy mix. AMEC is fully committed to the renewable energy market and, with our partners, we already operate five wind farms, including the UK’s first offshore facility.”
He went on to say: “I am pleased to say that the company now leads the way in the UK in developing wind farms by using our long history and experience in engineering, design and fabrication. These complement our new technology skills in wind turbines to offer a complete capability from site selection through to design, installation and operation. We are presently at various stages of the development cycle for a further 400 megawatts of wind projects worldwide.
“Next year we will be constructing 15 MW of capacity in the North East of England and we have also teamed up with Corus (formerly British Steel) to submit the first phase of a 75 MW project at the company’s Redcar site in the north east of England. We also expect to submit an additional 200 MW of developments into the planning system.”
In addition AMEC has an option to develop a 30 turbine offshore project off the coast of Skegness on the East Coast of England and expects to apply for appropriate consents by the end of next year. The Company is also pursuing a number of opportunities in North America and Australia.
The first stage of the Lewis project, which is starting immediately, will see AMEC undertaking a detailed feasibility study. The project has already been developed in close and ongoing consultation with the local community and various interest parties, including Scottish National Heritage, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Western Isles Enterprise, Western Isles Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Benefits to the regional community will be considerable in terms of local employment and revenue and would establish the Western Isles as the ‘renewable capital of Europe’. It will also provide long-term income for members of the Stornoway Trust – the landowners – and see the re-opening of local fabrication facility Arnish Point, as a turbine and tower manufacturing plant.
British Energy’s executive chairman Robin Jeffrey said: “I’m delighted that British Energy is a partner in this venture – the UK’s biggest generator getting involved in the country’s biggest windfarm.
“But what’s more important is that it fits so well with our vision of the future – with commercial wind power and nuclear energy as natural partners complementing each other in combating global warming, and giving Scotland a leading international role in developing sustainable energy systems of the future.”
