offshore windfarm

Two massive floating offshore windfarms are being proposed for the Minch.

Some 320 huge semi-submersible wind turbines, each towering nearly 100 metres above the water, could be moored in two major clusters off the east coast of Lewis, it is said.

The Norwegian Government-owned energy company Statoil said it was premature to say if, or where, hundreds of turbines would be built.

It confirmed it first plans to test out the plan using five machine in a trial scheme possibly off Lewis.

Plans to build a floating offshore windfarm in the northern Minch were revealed by Hebrides News in June 2008. It followed talks in Stornoway with local interests. Development agencies and fishermen representatives received a presentation about the plans.

In the current proposal one wind farm would be built a few miles off Bayble in Point.

A larger cluster would sprawl over a large sea area between Ness and Cape Wrath.

The plans are at a very early stage though Statoil has held preliminary talks on Lewis. The firm will return to the island in September for further discussions.

No public consultation is taking place at this stage as there is no firm commitment to go ahead.

Island fishermen are treating the proposal with caution as a large exclusion zone would be imposed around the turbines cutting off a large section of the Minch from the prawn fleet.

The Western Isles fishing industry are encouraging the development to avoid vital prawn fishing grounds.

The Point windfarm could export its output by initially linking to Lewis and via a sub-sea cable running out of Gravir to the mainland.

Massive offshore windfarm proposal for Lewis 9/7/10

► Arnish could build Minch turbines

Statoil ASA has developed a 2.3 MW wind turbine attached to the top of a spar-buoy which is often used on oil rigs and offshore loading buoys.

The rotor blades on the floating wind turbine has a diameter of 80 metres, and the nacelle will tower some 65 metres above the sea surface.

Some 100 metres of the structure would be underwater and moored to the seabed using three anchor points. The wind turbine can be located in waters with depths ranging from 120 to 700 metres.

Wind turbines would be anchored to the seabed.

Pix: Hild Bjelland Vik / Statoil