Burradale wind farm owners build new 3MW turbine on former SSE site

A family-owned firm has erected a large wind turbine on a site in Shetland acquired from energy giant SSE.

 Shetland Aerogenerators, operators of the 15-year-old Burradale Wind Farm, one of the most productive in the world, has put up a 3MW Enercon machine at Luggie’s Knowe near Lerwick. The tower, generator and blade sections were lifted into place by a 750-tonne Liebherr crane with a reach of 85m. The crane was transported to Shetland by the German turbine manufacturer specially for the lift. Commissioning work and grid connection will follow.

 With a tip height of 121m, the Enercon E-82 E4 is Shetland’s largest so far. The Viking Energy project has planning approval for slightly larger 3.6MW machines. Shetland Aerogenerators took over the development from SSE. Commercial funding for the project was arranged with Lombard Finance.

 The power from the turbine will be exported through SSE's Active Network Management system, which was introduced as part of the NINES (Northern Isles New Energy Solutions) project. NINES is designed to let more renewable sources feed in to the local electricity grid.

 Shetland Aerogenerators managing director Angus Ward said:

“We originally thought the project could only be built out next year but thanks mainly to the goodwill of SSE we've been able to bring everything forward. “The Enercon is a highly sophisticated machine which will continue producing clean electricity even in high wind conditions.”

 Director David Thomson added that the civil works, including excavations, construction of the access road and pouring of the concrete base, had been very ably carried out by local firm Garriock Bros while Orkney firm Bryan J Rendall is doing the specialist electrical works.

 “It’s very exciting and satisfying to see the project, which we've been working on for the past year, come to fruition and now we can look forward to the commissioning phase.”

SSE buy 20% share in Laggan-Tormore gas project, including gas plant

SSE, already 50% partners in Shetland's Viking Energy windfarm project, has invested in 20% of Total's Laggan-Tormore gas project, taking in four offshore gas fields and the new gas plant in the isles. Shetland News story here: http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/11118-sse-buys-stake-in-new-gas-plant

Shetland Times story here: http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2015/07/29/sse-confirms-20-per-cent-investment-in-gas-fields

Base of new Bluemull Sound tidal turbine arrives in Unst.

The base of one of Nova Innovation's  100 kw tidal turbines, part of the 'Shetland Tidal Array' has arrived at Belmont in Unst. It will be sited in the fast-flowing waters of Bluemull Sound between the Shetland islands Unst and Yell, sitting alongside the world's first community-owned tidal turbine, installed by Nova last year for the North Yell Development Council. The blades of the entire five-turbine array are being manufactured by Lerwick company Shetland Composites.

First Clair Ridge topside modules safely installed west of Shetland

BP and its partners ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell have confirmed the safe installation of the new Clair Ridge platform’s quarters and utilities (QU) topside modules, a major milestone in the Clair Ridge project.

The QU platform comprises three modules – the quarters and utilities integrated deck (QUID) which has a lift weight of 9,400te; the power generation (GM) module which has a lift weight of 4,550te; and the living quarters (LQ) module which has a lift weight of 2,210te. They were safely lifted onto the pre-installed jackets by the Heerema Thialf heavy lift vessel.

The hook up and commissioning of these modules has created over 600 jobs, including six electrical apprentices, all of which have recently been recruited through Amec Foster Wheeler.

Clair Ridge is a multi-billion investment in the second phase of development on the Clair field which lies 75km to the west of the Shetland Islands. The project comprises two new bridge-linked platforms and new pipeline infrastructure to connect storage and redelivery facilities on Shetland. The next major milestone will be the installation of the production and drilling (DP) platform topside modules, scheduled for summer 2016, with production expected to commence in late 2017.

Trevor Garlick, Regional President for BP’s North Sea business said: “The safe installation of these three topside modules is a fantastic achievement by the project team. In a challenging time for the industry, this project shows the potential of our basin and why it is so important that we work to ensure a competitive future business.”

Approximately half of the Clair Ridge investment is occurring in the UK, with over 80 British companies providing engineering design and support service, hook-up and installation services, manpower and a wide range of engineered equipment.

The Clair Ridge development will have the capability to produce an estimated 640 million barrels of oil over a 40 year period, with peak production expected to be up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day.

Clair Ridge is the first sanctioned large-scale offshore enhanced oil recovery (EOR) scheme using reduced salinity water injection (LoSal^® EOR) to extract a higher proportion of oil over the life of the field. To reduce the environmental impact of the project, the platforms will be powered using dual-fuel power generators, incorporating waste heat recovery technology. Vapour recovery will also be used to capture and recycle low pressure gas for use as fuel or for exporting to shore.

First Laggan-Tormore gas by September: Petrofac statement

The Shetland gas plant being built for Total's Laggan-Tormore Project will have gas flowing into it by September, according to a trading update by contractors Petrofac.

The company say: "Construction activities on the Laggan-Tormore project are substantially complete; we are now busy with final completion and pre-commissioning-related activities and our focus remains on delivering first gas in Q3 2015; additional completion and pre-commissioning works are expected to lead to incremental pre-tax costs of approximately £30m; deferred tax asset recognised in respect of tax losses on the project of approximately £20m."

Full Petrofac statement here:http://www.petrofac.com/media/news/2015/june/23/trading-update.aspx

Shetland News story, with background, here: http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/10916-petrofac-hopeful-of-first-gas-by-end-of-summer

UK Government windfarm subsidy change will not affect Shetland projects

The much-discussed change in subsidy provision for onshore windfarms will not affect major projects planned for Shetland, including Viking Energy.

Shetland Times stort here: http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2015/06/18/renewable-subsidy-change-will-not-affect-isles

Shetland Islands Council publishes local Marine Spatial Plan

Shetland Islands Council has published the Shetland Islands Marine Spatial Plan as the first Supplementary Guidance to the new Local Development Plan.

The Marine Spatial Plan provides policy guidance for all types of marine activity around Shetland’s coastline, such as fishing, aquaculture, oil and gas, marine renewables, transport and recreation. The plan also shows where opportunities for sustainable marine development exist and where constraint is required, aimed at reducing conflict between those who use the marine environment.

The Scottish Government has just published its first National Marine Plan, providing an overall national policy marine activity. The next step is to produce Regional Marine Plans and Shetland is one of the first regions in Scotland to begin work on this, along with the Clyde area. The Shetland Islands Marine Spatial Plan has received favourable comments from a number of UK and European authorities for the processes involved in its formation and for the level of detail contained in the document.

Councillor Alastair Cooper, Chair of the Development Committee: “I am delighted to see the Marine Spatial Plan adopted as the Council's policy guidelines for marine development and resource use. Shetland has always been aware of the importance of the seas around our Islands and this Plan will ensure that that continues to be the case. Once again Shetland is a beacon for the rest of Scotland”.

The Shetland Islands Marine Spatial Plan can be viewed or downloaded at:http://www.shetland.gov.uk/planning/documents/SIMSP_2015.pdf (PDF file, 16.7Mb)