Engineering news
MeyGen, the world’s largest tidal stream development, is “well under way” and on schedule for delivery, with a series of successful construction milestones completed.
Scottish energy minister, Fergus Ewing, visited the Caithness site to witness first-hand the onshore and offshore construction works taking place. He said the “eyes of the global marine industry” were on this “one-of-a-kind” project, and praised the job creation it had created.
His visit marked the completion of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) of bore holes from the foreshore into the inner sound and down to the seabed, with successful subsea exits on all four bore holes. Each hole is 550 metres in length and will house power cables which will connect the subsea turbines to the onshore Power Conversion Centre.
Works on the onshore facilities have also taken a step forward with construction on the Power Conversion Centre starting this week. The centre will take the power generated by the subsea turbines and feed it into the electricity grid. It has been designed to withstand and protect the critical electrical equipment against the extreme elements of the Pentland Firth, while also ensuring the building will blend into the local environment and offer minimal visual and noise impact on the surrounding countryside.
Operationally, the centre has been designed with bespoke water, waste, and cooling solutions, in order to minimise the environmental impact. In order to minimise any potential impacts on local wildlife, a dedicated otter crossing has been installed under the roadway and special slit traps surround the entire MeyGen site to prevent any draining water from contaminating natural watercourses.
Meanwhile, grid connection cable burial works along the 12 mile route from Hastigrow have also commenced.
MeyGen was one of the first tidal projects in the world to secure the necessary planning consent, lease agreement, grid connection and power purchase agreement in order to begin onshore and offshore construction. Atlantis Resources, the leading tidal project developer, is the majority owner of MeyGen.
Dan Pearson, chief executive of MeyGen, said: “The MeyGen project represents the best of what Scotland has to offer when it comes to the energy infrastructure development: an integrated supply chain, state of the art manufacturing facilities, and world class engineering skills.”
Calum Davidson, director of energy & low carbon at the Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: “MeyGen is a hugely significant development in marine energy. Crucial to the success of the project is the expertise found in the local supply chain. Therefore, we are delighted to see the initial site works going ahead on time and within budget.”
The MeyGen project is the world’s largest planned tidal development at 398 megawatts of total installed capacity when fully constructed. Situated in the Pentland Firth, the MeyGen array will consist of 269 submerged tidal turbines, enough to power 175,000 Scottish homes. In Phase 1A of the project, four submerged turbines generating 6MW will be installed in the Inner Pentland Firth just north of Caithness, with first power expected to be delivered in 2016.
ABB, the power and automation technology group, is the principal contractor for all onshore construction of the MeyGen project.