Construction begins on Robin Rigg windfarm - 20-12-2007 - 10:13

Construction has begun on the £325 million Robin Rigg windfarm in the Solway Firth.

A purpose built jack-up vessel will be used to construct the turbines. The vessel, MV Resolution, has begun installing the foundations for the turbines.

Ian Johnson, senior project manager at E.ON, said: "The resolution will use six massive legs, each half the length of a football pitch, to lift itself out of the water and create a stable platform from which we can work."

He added that an 80 metre crane will be used to lift the foundations off the vessel

They are driven in using a 140 tonne anvil and "an incredibly powerful hydraulic ram".

The windfarm will be one of the biggest in the world when it is finished – the completion date is in spring 2009.

Meanwhile, planning permission has been granted for a new windfarm at Achany in Scotland. It will have 32 turbines and construction is expected to begin in the New Year.

UK company engineers mobile foam - 13-12-2007 - 09:07

A UK engineering company has developed a mobile decontamination system which could help shorten the decommissioning process at Sellafield.

Cheshire-based company Nexia Solutions created the system which has two parts – a foam generator and a separate encapsulation receptacle.

Richard Taylor, head of technical resource at Nexia Solutions, said: "At Sellafield, we have a lot of old chemical plant with contamination in the pipe works and vessels, so the foam decontamination system is a novel way to carry out in situ decontamination."

He added that trials had been carried out with radioactive materials and the system achieved "95 per cent decontamination efficiency on small test pieces such as small pennies".

The company has only carried out small scale trials so far but hopes it can release the system for use in the near future.

Nexia Solutions is part of the BNFL Group and is a wholly owned subsidiary company. It aims to deliver technology services and solutions to its customers.

New windfarms to be built off UK coast - 11-12-2007 - 10:00

The government has announced plans to build thousands of new wind turbines which it says will produce 33 gigawatts of energy.

All of the proposed turbines would be located off shore and would be the "third round" of wind energy development.

Energy secretary John Hutton said: "The draft plan I'm setting out today could allow companies to develop up to 25 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2020, in addition to the eight gigawatts already planned."

He added that the new turbines could be a "major contribution" towards meeting the EU target of producing 20 per cent of energy from renewable sources from 2020.

Already announced are plans for the biggest offshore wind farm in the world, London Array. The development will produce one gigawatt of energy.

The construction contract for two offshore wind farms, Walney Island and Gunfleet Sands 2, was awarded to Danish firm DONG Energy. Production will start in 2010.