Windfarm built after 11 years 28/3/13
The last of the six tall turbines for the £27 million Pentland Road windfarm outside
Stornoway has been built.
When the stiff easterly wind eased on Wednesday evening, the pre-assembled three
blades, weighing a total of 50 tonnes were gently lifted 100 metres into the air
and eased into place by a giant crane.
Some 11 years after the project was first mooted the generators are at last erect
though it will be another couple of weeks before they start producing electricity.
Malcolm Maciver of Stornoway-based Maciver Consultancy Services which has supervised
the scheme from the initial surveys a decade ago to its completion said it was “excellent”
to see the turbines just about ready to go.
Mr Maciver said: “After years of planning, it is excellent to see it completed. There
has been incredible logistics getting it all together.”
The Pentland Road windfarm is located on Knock and Swordale crofters’common grazings,
two miles west of Stornoway.
Each of the six steel reinforced foundations are reinforced with 1,000 tonnes of
concrete.
Local labour has been used in constructing the access roads and building the foundations.
Rentals will be paid to grazings committee, and landlord, Stornoway Trust. Island
developments trusts will also receive financial benefits.
It took 14 artic lorries to deliver the jib sections of the heavy lift crane used
to lift the tower sections and the blades. Four days were required just to dismantle
the crane and reassemble it a few hundred metres away at the next turbine location.
