Day: September 25, 2013

Pupils from Leswalt Primary School today viewed construction works being undertaken for the 18-turbine wind farm on Carscreugh Fell, 3km north east of the village of Glenluce.

The 40 pupils from the school’s primary 1 to 7 classes (ages 5-11) made the trip to look at the work being undertaken on the piling of the site and establishing the foundations for the turbines, including deliveries of concrete and steel. They also saw the works being undertaken on the control building for the wind farm.

 

The 15.3 MW wind farm will have a maximum height to the blade tip of 70m and was approved by the Scottish Government in March 2012, with construction on the site commencing in August and anticipated to complete in spring 2014.

The wind farm operator, Carscreugh Renewable Energy Park Ltd, was sold by Spanish firm, Gamesa, to specialist investor and asset manager, John Laing plc in June. Under the agreement Gamesa will carry out operations and maintenance services at the facility for 10 years.

In addition to the wind turbines the proposed development will also include:

 

·         A control building housing switch gear, metering equipment and control equipment;

·         Access to the site via the A75;

·         On-site access tracks;

·         Underground cable routes, and

·         A meteorological mast.

 

Around 40 people will be employed on site preparation and infrastructure works, rising to around 70 for the delivery of the Gamesa wind turbines.

Sergio Pascual Garrido, Project Manager for Carscreugh Renewable Energy Park Ltd said:

 

“We are delighted to have the children from Leswalt here to look at the process involved in the delivery of the wind farm. It is also very timely given that they have been putting a lot of effort into studying renewable energy in the classroom and they can now see the real thing. We are anticipated to complete the project in spring next year and would be delighted to have them back in the future they will be able to see the progress made.”

Sheila Baillie, Head teacher of Leswalt Primary School, said:

 

“It was great for the children to be able to see what is involved in putting up a wind farm and would like to thanks Gamesa and John Laing for this opportunity. The children have been building their own wind turbines in the classroom as part of a project looking at renewable energy and it is fantastic for them to have the opportunity to see the real thing being constructed. We will hopefully be able to come back in the future and they can see how things have progressed.”