Robin Rigg offshore wind farm

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• Robin Rigg offshore wind farm
• How the project was developed
• Sally Shenton
• November 2008

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The Backdrop

• Climate change is real and will have a local
  impact
• E.ON has stepped up to meet the climate change
  challenge.
• ...but we recognise it is not simply a case
  of tackling climate change alone
• Robin Rigg is at the heart of E.ONs plans to
  meet the UK Energy Challenge
• Robin Rigg will bring benefits to the Solway
  Firth Communities
• Robin Rigg is a shining example of the Energy
  Coast in action

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This is not just a natural effect..
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UK Energy Challenge
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E.ON and the UK Energy Debate
E.ON is fully committed to clean, low-carbon
energy generation. Some attack us for supporting
new nuclear build, some for promoting cleaner
coal and some for building wind power, both on
and off-shore. But such criticism avoids
confronting the real issues that the threat of
climate change is real that there is increasing
global demand for energy that the UK no longer
has sufficient energy reserves of its own to
exploit, and that the UK needs to replace a major
part of its energy generation assets now.
How we manage the transition to a lower-carbon
economy is one of the most important challenges
facing the UK.
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Robin Rigg Key Facts

• 180MW offshore wind farm
• 60 turbines
• Offshore sub-station
• Onshore sub-station
• Onshore office maintenance facility
• Wind farm should generate equivalent of the
  annual needs of half of Cumbria
• Largest windfarm in Scottish waters

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Foundations

• 40 50 m long
• Excess of 300 tonnes
• Buried in excess of 30m deep
• Extend 8m above mean sea level

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Turbines

• Vestas V90 3 MW machines
• Hub is 80m high
• Each blade is 44m long
• Tower weighs 110 tonnes
• Nacelles weigh 65 tonnes
• Each blade weighs 7 tonnes

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Vessels and Logistics

• Windfarm workboats
• 2 vessels
• 15m catamaran
• Designed for stability and shallow access
• Operations and Maintenance facility at Port of
  Workington

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Why is it good for West Cumbria and Dumfries
Galloway?

• Direct local jobs circa 30 full time permanent
  jobs boat crews
• Long term lease and agreement with Port of
  Workington worth over 2.4m
• Orders for local suppliers local supplier day 1
  2 July
• Spending with other local businesses hotels,
  catering, taxis, hotels..

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Becoming part of the Community

• 50,000 Donation to Maryport lifeboat secured
  them a new boat
• E.ON Energy Experience our schools programme
• 1m community fund

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Our first turbine
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The Substation
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Timeline

• Met Mast erected following initial site selection
  by Crown Estates Round 1 November 1999
• Final detailed site selection late 2001
• Baseline surveys of physical, natural and human
  environment including consultations set up of
  consultee groups 2001 onwards
• Consent granted March 2003
• Acquired by E.ON (Powergen)
• First foundation installed December 2007
• First turbine installed November 2008
• .

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Factors Affecting Final Site Selection

• Energy yield / shape of site relative to
  prevailing wind direction
• Depth of water
• Sites where Common Scoter congregate (principally
  Hestan Island)
• Visual impact proximity to shoreline and layout
  options
• Proximity to DG shoreline a National Scenic
  Area
• Proximity to MOD Firing Range
• Proximity to European Marine Site in Inner Solway
• Proximity to Solway Area of Outstanding Natural
  Beauty
• Location of Shipping channels
• Leisure craft routes

Source Robin Rigg Environmental Impact
Assessment
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Key Interest Groups

• Ecology / natural environment
• Fishermen
• RYA and local yacht clubs
• Scottish Executive / Scottish Renewables
• Local councils and parish councils
• MOD
• Public
• Telecommunications

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Existing Data Used in the EIA

• The Solway Firth Review (1996) by the Solway
  Firth Partnership documenting and summarising all
  information available on the state of resource
  use throughout the Firth
• Historical bathimetric charts from 1887 and 1932
• Aerial photographs of the Solway Firth at a scale
  of 125000 (1997)
• Borehole data from 3 boreholes carried out prior
  to the erection of the wind anemometry mast in
  1999
• Several studies of intertidal and shallow
  subtidal habitats in the Solway Firth including
  qualifying habitats in the Solway European Marine
  Site Monthly Trawl surveys carried out in the
  Solway area during the 1970s
• PhD fish surveys in the Irish Sea and Solway
  Firth in the 1990s
• General Irish Sea fish surveys
• Data on salmonids from various sources including
  Eden Rivers Trust, the West Galloway Fisheries
  Trust and the Cumbrian Sea Fisheries Committee
• The Solway Shark Watch and Sea Mammal Survey
  (SSWSMS) sightings program, which holds data
  between1938 and 2002 with the majority of data
  relating to the last few years
• Sea Watch Foundation abundance plots for sea
  mammals in the northern Irish Sea
• The JNCC Coastal Directories Project, Region 13
  report providing a comprehensive description of
  the coastal margin, its habitats, species and
  human activities from Colwyn Bay to Stranraer.
• The Wetland Bird Survey 1999-2000 Wildfowl and
  Wader Counts published by the British Trust for
  Ornithology, the RSPB and the JNCC JNCCs
  Seabird Colony register. This work was initiated
  as Operation Seafarer in 1969-70, and has been
  updated on annual basis since 1984, the most
  recent summary published in 1991

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Existing Data Used in the EIA

• High tide waterfowl counts from 2000/01 and
  2001/02, low tide waterfowl counts from 2000/01
  and 2001/02, and additional offshore bird records
  extracted from the reserve log for the RSPB
  reserve at Mersehead.
• Data from seabird observations carried out in the
  mid Solway by Peter Ullrich of the Cumbria Bird
  Club from 1990 through to 2001
• A landscape character assessment of the Dumfries
  and Galloway region carried out in 1998 by
  Scottish Natural Heritage, in partnership with
  the local authority and other agencies
• A landscape character assessment of the Cumbria
  region carried out in 1995 by Cumbria County
  Council
• The Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) maintained
  by Cumbria County Council
• The National Monuments Record (NMR) (including
  the maritime section of the NMR) maintained by
  English Heritage
• The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) wrecks record
• Historic maps and general information on the
  history of the Solway obtained from Record
  Offices in Carlisle and Dumfries.
• The Local Studies Collections in Maryport and
  Dumfries giving information on Solway shipwrecks
  within the Solway, and the general maritime
  history of the area.
• Information on seabed cables from the UK Cable
  Protection Committee
• A list of all microwave links starting or ending
  within 50 km of the proposal from the
  Radiocommunications Agency, with transmitter and
  receiver grid coordinates and broadcast
  frequencies.

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Consultation During Baseline Surveys

• The following bodies were consulted
• Eden Rivers Trust
• Scottish Natural Heritage
• English Nature
• Environment Agency
• West Galloway Fisheries Trust
• Cumbrian Sea Fisheries Committee
• Annan Fishermens Association
• Solway Shellfish Mangement Association
• Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency
• Solway Shark Watch and Sea Mammal Survey

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Any Questions?