‘It was early morning, the sea haar was rolling in. Three giant propellers, attached to a rotor cone, were lying on the ground.
Guys with giant hammers were banging beats like massive synchronised timpani in order to release the cone’s support frame.
Cranes, their tops disappearing into the shrouded mist, were poised. Cables creaked as the cranes slowly lifted their
magnificent prize into its upright position, hovering some metres above the ground. Men pulled and steadied long ropes
attached to each blade tip, as the crane drivers, at a snail’s pace, slowly eased the propeller into its final position.
The mist rolled out and the sun streamed in as it was locked and bolted onto the generator’s rotor high above.’
Diary extract, Sue Jane Taylor – Nigg, Ross-Shire July 2006
BEATRICE WORKS 2006-2010
It’s July 2007 and two 85m wind turbine generator units have been towed from the Cromarty Firth to a site 22km from the Caithness coast. In a small boat nearby, artist Sue Jane Taylor is holding her breath as each structure is winched carefully into place. Visible in certain lights from 65km away, these imposing structures are the world’s first deepwater turbines. Sue Jane Taylor has been following this pioneering engineering project for the last four years. In Denmark she documented the manufacture of the 63m carbon fibre blades; in Germany she watched the production of the Repower generators that convert air into power; and in Scotland’s Arnish, Methil, Nigg and other industrial sites she drew men and women working in this new energy industry. Her resulting work provides us with an invaluable insight into the people and technologies that are producing the North Sea’s first deep-water renewable energy. With the support of Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd, she was given access to the people and places at the cutting edge of the renewables industry. Their partnership was highly commended in the annual Arts & Business Scotland Awards, 2007 and 2008. Her images capture the extraordinary beauty of the turbines and the changing land and seascapes around them. As with all her work, pioneering technology sits side by side with the humanity of individual workers.
BEATRICE WIND FARM DEMONSTRATOR PROJECT
The Beatrice oil field was discovered in 1978 and is the closest oil field to shore in UK territorial waters. On a clear day, you can see the platform from the nearby Caithness coast. Although a highly successful field, natural production decline combined with increased costs meant that the end of field-life loomed ever closer. The Beatrice operator began to look for ways in which to extend its field-life, including the reduction of costs for the platform. The largest cost for Beatrice was its power – electricity to be precise. The Beatrice platform is unique in that it has a power connection to the shore, allowing it to import electricity directly from the National Grid. As such the Beatrice Team – now the SeaEnergy team – looked at opportunities to reduce the cost of electricity and find new opportunities for the infrastructure; offshore wind was the key. In 2002, the Beatrice Wind Farm Demonstrator Project was launched. This project involved the installation of the world’s two largest wind turbines (5MW each) ever deployed offshore, at water depths of 45m. This pioneering pan-European project, funded by the Scottish and UK Governments and the European Union, has involved the expertise of companies, universities, and organisations world-wide.Many elements of the project constituted world-first:
1 Deployment of 5MW turbines offshore
2 Installation of turbines in deep-water (>40 m)
3 Use of a ‘jacket’ substructure for an offshore turbine
4 Assembly of a tower, turbine, hub and blades onshore
and moved as a single unit offshore
5 Installation of turbines from a floating vessel
6 Development of a safe, reliable, ladderless access
system from a specialised vessel developed for
offshore wind logistics
Allan MacAskill
Business Development Director,
SeaEnergy Renewables Limited
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |